

Google has released an "Ancient Rome 3D" layer for their popular Google Earth geographic browser. The new layer shows many of the buildings, structures and topography that made up the city during the rule of Constantine the Great. Some of the buildings even have interiors.

The Ancient Rome 3D feature was created in conjunction with the Rome Reborn Project 2.0 at University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. It is directed by Bernard Frischer, who started version 1.0 of Rome Reborn at UCLA in 1996. The purpose of the project is to depict a moment in time in Ancient Roman history, specifically June 21, 320 A.D., which was more or less the apex of the city's development as the capital of the Roman Empire.

Google Earth 4.3 (beta) can be downloaded for the PC, Mac or Linux. The Ancient Rome 3D layer can be found under Galleries in the Navigating Toolbar. For a video demonstration of Ancient Rome 3D, see the video embedded below, or click this link.

Via NYTimes.com