£150k funding announced to develop cutting-edge technology for the Antonine Wall

3D app to be developed for Roman World Heritage Site

Creative Europe has granted a new project with £150K of funding to develop cutting-edge technology which will revolutionise the visitor experience at the Antonine Wall, in Central Scotland. The Wall is part of the Europe wide ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site’ and the project will see Scottish, German and Austrian partners working together to create a mobile app platform and exciting new visitor content. 

Through the use of augmented reality and 3D virtual reconstructions, whilst improving understanding and access both for users on-site but also for those who may want to visit ‘virtually’ from elsewhere, the new technology promises to make the visitor experience more interactive. 

A key aim of the project is to engage with key audiences and carry out user testing, potentially with schools and community groups, in Scotland and Germany. Engagement with local authority partners across Central Scotland will also explore how best to use the app to support the tourism offering at individual properties along the length of the Antonine Wall.

New technologies for presentation and engagement will be explored during the project, with the hosting of conferences in Scotland and Germany providing an opportunity for the exchange of information and best practice across the sector, both in Europe and worldwide.  The final products will also be made available, free of charge, to other countries along the line of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site, such as the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Hungary, to enable them to create their own bespoke versions.

The three year Advanced Limes Applications project (ALApp) is a partnership between Historic Environment Scotland, The Glasgow-based Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation (CDDV) - a collaboration between heritage specialists at Historic Environment Scotland and world leaders in 3D visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio -  the Bavarian State Department for Monument Protection, and Austrian firm Edufilm und medien GmbH, who specialise in the production of heritage based digital applications. 

The project builds on previous work of the CDDV to digitally document the line of the Antonine Wall as part of the Scottish Ten project. The project will significantly enhance a basic version of the app platform which was developed by the Bavarian State Department for Monument Protection (with financial support from the Bavarian Savings Bank Foundation).

 Historic Environment Scotland's Antonine Wall World Heritage Site Co-ordinator, Dr Patricia Weeks, said: “over the last twelve months we have made great strides in digitally interpreting the Antonine Wall. Thanks to this significant commitment from Creative Europe, as well as Historic Environment Scotland’s own substantial investment, we are now able to build on that work and expand our use of innovative technologies to engage the widest audience possible. The project is a great model of international partnership working and ultimately we will share the technology with other countries free of charge, which should benefit the entire sector.” 

CDDV's Digital Documentation Manager, Dr Lyn Wilson, said:  “We are delighted to have the opportunity, thanks to Creative Europe’s generous funding, to further develop and disseminate the 3D data we captured as part of the Scottish Ten project. The app will offer a substantial opportunity to share widely our high quality 3D models and accurate virtual reconstructions of both archaeological sites and artefacts from the Antonine Wall in a state-of-the-art way. We look forward to working in partnership with colleagues across Europe on this”.

Bavarian Office of Monument Protection/Museums department, Dr Christof Fluegel, said: “ALApp offers the huge opportunity to enhance visitor experience along the transnational serial World Heritage Site “Frontiers of the Roman Empire”. We are glad that we can combine our experience in the field of Roman Apps on the Limes in Germany with a truly European approach to bring archaeology to life, together with our Austrian and Scottish partners and are looking forward to this exciting collaboration.”

Erik Dobat (M.A) of Edufilm und medien GmbH said: “We are very happy to participate in this granted European project which is helping to present common European history to a large audience, making archaeology more widely available and easy to understand. We have extensive experience in developing cutting-edge technology in this area, which we will use to present the Antonine Wall and the Roman Frontiers in an innovative way, using multimedia and 3D to facilitate a better understanding of these monuments. We look forward to working with an international team, sharing ideas and expertise.

Further information about the project will be made available at the project’s official website: www.alapp.eu