January
01
/ 2014
Scientists have used latest technology to produce virtual simulations of an Egyptian obelisk and the famous Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) in ancient Rome to solve a mystery surrounding the ancient obelisk, which functions as a giant sundial. The 3D reconstruction they produced shows how the sun would have lined up with the obelisk and the altar. The Ara Pacis, or "Altar of Peace," is an altar in Rome dedicated to Peace, the Roman goddess, and commissioned in 13 BC to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after his three years in Hispania and Gaul. Today the building is recognized as a masterpiece of Augustan architecture, and it is housed in a glass, cube-shaped museum along the Tiber River
