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ERATO |
IDENTIFICATION EVALUATION AND REVIVAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL HERITAGE OF ANCIENT THEATRES AND ODEA | ||
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WORK PACKAGES
Last Update
31-01-2006
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ERATOThe ERATO project (identification Evaluation and Revival of the Acoustical heritage of ancient Theatres and Odea)(Contract Number ICA3-CT-2002-10031), is part of the European Commission Fifth Framework INCO – MED Programme. This Programme is directed towards cooperation
between EU-countries and the Mediterranean countries. One of
the priorities within the programme is
: “Preserving and using the cultural heritage”.
The project started the 1st of February, 2003 and is running for a period of 3 years . The idea is that for spaces having acoustical importance, the conservation and restoration of the architectural heritage should take into consideration both the visual and the acoustical features.
IntroductionThe
Greek and Roman theatres are among the most precious and spectacular
items of cultural heritage in the Mediterranean countries. The theatres
are famous not only for their impressive architecture, but also for the
acoustic qualities. This is one reason for the successful use in modern
time of these facilities for concerts, operas and other kinds of
cultural performances. In this project the concept of acoustical
heritage is used in order to emphasize the importance of the acoustic
qualities. Ancient
theatres may be divided into three different types of theatres, each
with its own specific purpose: ·
The
large open-air theatres, with some clear differences between the
Hellenistic theatre and the later Roman theatre. A place for a large
audience to watch plays. Speech intelligibility has high priority. ·
The
smaller odea (Greek: odeion, Latin: teatrum tectum), a
permanently roofed music hall or a place for singing. The support of the
sound has high priority. ·
The
amphitheatres with the audience surrounding an oval arena. These were
developed in the Roman period for gladiator fights and entertainments
with wild animals. The visual sightlines have high priority. The
main objectives of this research are identification, virtual restoration
and revival of the acoustical heritage in a few, selected examples of
the theatre and the roofed odeum in a 3D virtual environment. The
amphitheatres with their clearly different purpose will not be included
in this project. The virtual restitution will integrate the visual and
acoustical simulations, and will be based on the most recent results of
research in archaeology, theatre history, clothing, theatre performance
and early music. The
scientific and technological objectives are summarised as follows: ·
Identification
of the acoustic characteristics of ancient theatres and odea. · Identification and selection of musical instruments, music, song, clothes and style of performance of the Hellenistic and Roman period. ·
Creation
of virtual restoration and revival of cultural heritage. ·
Evaluation
of the acoustical heritage in the virtual restorations. ·
Comparison
of the acoustical heritage in the Hellenistic theatre, the Roman theatre
and the odeum. ·
Providing
information for future restoration works on ancient theatres ·
Providing
guidelines for modern use of the ancient theatres
Work PlanThe sites to be worked on in the project have been chosen among the important and well-known sites from Mediterranean region, and are: ·
Jerash (Jordan). Both
an open-air theatre and a square odeum. ·
Aphrodisias (Turkey).
Both an open-air theatre and a semi-circular odeum (graphic reconstruction
by Izenour). The theatre was originally in the Greek style, but later
modified in the Roman style. ·
Aspendos (Turkey). One
of the best-preserved open-air theatres, and thus considered very
interesting for acoustical measurements. ·
Aosta (Italy). A very
large odeum, one of the walls is virtually intact in full height (graphic
reconstruction by Izenour). This is particularly interesting with respect
to reconstruction of the window openings that provided the theatre with
daylight and ventilation. · Syracuse (Italy). Well documented and interesting because it has been used by the Greeks and then remodeled by the Romans. At least three odea and three open-air theatres will
be selected for the acoustical virtual restoration. Two of these (one
odeum and one open-air theatre) will also be selected for the visual
virtual restoration. Models will be created of the monuments both as
originally built (to the extent that this is known), in their present
state (as ruins), after a possible reconstruction and with the temporary
stages and scenery often applied when these spaces are used as performance
venues today. Hereby, it becomes possible to quantify the acoustical
properties of the ancient theatres and odea in each condition leading to
valuable information regarding the acoustical consequences and degree of
authenticity of permanent restorations and temporary amendments. Musical instruments from the Hellenistic and Roman
period will be reproduced and some music samples will be designed for the
purpose to make sound recordings. Based on such recorded samples of
authentic style music/speech the acoustic simulations of the theatres will
also produce audible sound demonstrations of virtual performances with a
high degree of acoustic realism. These sound files will be integrated with
the visual restorations to form the audio in 3D virtual realizations of
performances in the selected venues. The results
from the various research areas are integrated in a CD-ROM, which will be
the final goal for all the disciplines. |
