Aspectus operis and visual attention : from Vitruvius to Virtual Reality

Abstract

How does one interpret remains of the past without projecting one's cultural baggage in the process? This is a daily concern both for historians and archaeologists. In the present study, we investigate the possibility that a careful analysis of visual attention can provide invaluable hints leading us toward a better understanding of symbolic space. Through the examination of low level visual inputs we are able to explore the spatial composition of an archaeological landscape as it was originally intended to be seen and perceived. This provides a possibility for identifying socially meaningful features in a realistic virtual environment