Sources of Research” for the Virtual Reconstruction of Ancient Monuments: The Case of Architectural Models

Abstract

The use of architectural scale models, also known by the French word maquette or the Italian names plastico or modello, is an ancient practice, which prob-ably began when architecture emerged from its purely practical and utilitarian phase to become a formal category of knowledge with specifically sought-after and deliber-ately selected characteristics, linked to the increased dimensions and the enrichment of forms [1]. The model constitutes a representation, generally on a smaller scale and made of different materials but similar in effect, of a work to be created. Models are made of various materials, in accordance with the tastes of Scholars and with need, such as wood, wax, terracotta, stucco and so on. Precisely due to the highly perish-able nature of the materials with which models in antiquity were made, this type of indirect source is very rarely found in archaeological contexts. This contribution concerns a case study in which an architectural model found in an archaeological excavation was used as the main of research source for the 3D reconstruction of an ancient monument.