Virtual Taxila: A Web-Accessible, Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) of an Ancient Indian City

FAIN: HD-50766-09

Claremont McKenna College (Claremont, CA 91711-5929)
Daniel Michon (Project Director: April 2009 to April 2011)

Reconstruction of the ancient city of Taxila (located in modern Pakistan) through computer modeling, including animated and interactive "inhabitants," with public access via the Internet.

The Virtual Taxila project will develop a web-accessible, 3D, immersive, multi-user virtual environment (MUVE), where visitors will engage in situated, participatory learning about ancient Indian culture. The project will focus on the archaeological site of Taxila, the ancient capital of western Punjab and now an UNESCO World Heritage site located in Pakistan. Taxila was inhabited c. 500 BCE to c. 700 CE, but the project will model the city as it stood at circa 1 CE. The model will include both the city's tangible heritage (the built environment and the physical artifacts) and its intangible heritage (the people and their rituals, commercial transactions, and work activities). Virtual Taxila will create a "situated" community of practice, where visitors will be immersed in the historical context about which they learn. By logging in online, visitors will be able to interact with computer controlled characters that will act as guides, providing them with an insider's experience.