FutureLearn

Rome: a Virtual Tour of the Ancient City (FutureLearn)

Offered by University of Reading,
Rome: a Virtual Tour of the Ancient City (FutureLearn)

Explore the architecture and history of Rome, walking around a 3D digital model of the ancient city, with this free online course. Explore ancient Rome through a unique, historically accurate 3D model. Take a guided tour around ancient Rome with expert Professor Matthew Nicholls, using his detailed and award-winning 3D digital model of the city.

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Explore Rome’s architecture and how it was used - how did Romans worship their gods and meet their political masters? How was drinking water supplied to the city’s million inhabitants? Moving seamlessly between footage of contemporary Rome and the digital model (including interactive elements), you’ll explore these questions and much more.
Use this insight to inform your own encounters with the eternal city and the study of ancient history more generally.

Syllabus

Week 1: Location and infrastructure
Week 2: Political architecture
Week 3: Religious architecture
Week 4: Life and death in ancient rome
Week 5: Bread and circuses

What will you achieve?

  • Explore different categories of building within the city, and the functions they housed
  • Investigate a range of evidence including archaeological remains, coins, literary texts, and inscriptions to learn how we can understand and interpret the ancient past
  • Discuss the way the rulers of Rome used architecture to adorn the city and keep it functioning
  • Experience digital modeling as a way of presenting the ancient past, exploring models on screen and in videos and discussing what they can show us

Who is the course for?
This course is open to anyone with an interest in discovering more about ancient Rome. You might be: planning a visit to the Italian capital; an avid watcher of documentaries on Roman history; or considering studying archaeology, classics or history at university.

Go to Class
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