Exploring the Past using Dynamic Auralization of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study on the Theatre of Tyndaris

This work describes the development of an audio-visual virtual reality experience that allows users to explore the evolution of the acoustics of the ancient Theater of Tyndaris (Sicily) across four historical periods: Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, and contemporary. We present an overview of current methodologies for sound-field naviga- tion and then we focus on our solution of choice: the inter- polation between multiple Ambisonics Room Impulse Re- sponses (ARIR) computed in Geometrical Acoustics (GA) software. Approximately 500 3rd Order ARIRs have been employed for each sound source in each configuration. A calibrated simulation model of the theater’s current state was validated for plausibility, serving as a foundation for the construction of the acoustical models of earlier config- urations, based on archaeological evidence. Using these models, we created an immersive VR environment where users can navigate freely within the theater and seamlessly switch between historical periods to experience the vari- ation in the acoustic qualities from any position. The au- ralization is accompanied by a detailed real-time visual rendering, made in Unity game engine. Through the case study on the theatre of Tyndaris, we showcase the practi- cality of this technique, its potentials and its limitations.