Discovering Petra: Archaeological Analysis in VR

The authors introduce new archaeological analysis tools that combine novel visualization and interaction techniques within the three-dimensional immersive virtual-reality environment of a CAVE. These tools give archaeologists access to formerly inaccessible parts of the archaeological record; support navigation and interaction with virtual trenches, stratigraphy, artifacts and architecture; and preserve and display the spatial relationships present before excavation. Using an iterative approach and working with archaeologists from the Brown University-sponsored excavations at Petra, Jordan, the authors built four successive prototypes, each of which refined tools from earlier prototypes and added new tools to help users query, navigate and explore site findings in three dimensions and at different scales.