This project aims to recreate a virtual reality model of the Minoan site of Knossos around 1500 BC, that is shortly before the volcanic eruption of Thera. The model is being created as close to the archaeological evidence as possible.
It is assumed that is will be an indefinite project constantly being updated as new evidence comes to light or errors corrected. Where the evidence is ambiguous it will be possible to model the different options. Thus the model need not comply with only one interpretation but will be able to accommodate several possibilities.
Currently the whole site has been modelled to the "concrete block" state, with a few of the better known rooms modelled in a little more detail. The model has been based on the site plan drawn up under the direction of Sinclair Hood (S. Hood and W. Taylor, The Bronze Palace at Knossos: Plan and Sections, BSA Age Suppl 13, London 1981) and thus should be accurate to roughly plus or minus 20cm.
The link below shows some renders of the preliminary stages of the modelling.
It will soon also be possible to explore the Palace Complex by "walking around" the 3D environment in the same way virtual worlds are explored in computer games.
