Valid archaeological reconstruction of the ancient world: a case study of the Middle Bronze Age temples at Pella in Jordan

This thesis investigates the potential of visualisation practices in the field of archaeological reconstruction. The practice of pictorially representing ancient history has long sought to reconcile the tension between the desire for objective representation, and the inevitable use of subjective imagination. The epistemological challenges of visualising uncertain knowledge claims have prompted the emergence of rigorous new research frameworks that attempt to remove or mitigate subjective tendencies through empirically structured methodologies, and to position reconstruction as a scholarly practice. The need to align reconstruction activity with objective scientific practice is also intended to combat historically problematic representations that have perpetuated outdated ideas. For these reasons, it is now generally acknowledged that visual hypotheses should be presented with reasoned arguments, with well-documented methods that are transparent and available for critical assessment and interrogation. However, 3D visualisation tools are increasingly used as a means of reflexive and re-iterative engagement with the archaeological record. Through the action of both thinking through and experiencing a reconstructed space within a simulated environment new questions, insights, and perspectives emerge. This repositioning of the visualisation from rhetorical presentation to investigative tool remains the primary appeal of 3D digital reconstructions for archaeologists, where alternate forms of engagement and experimentation are valued over the function of communicating visual representations of ancient history to broader audiences. Such a tool becomes most effective when plausible hypotheses can be explored with the understanding that knowledge claims are contingent, evolving, and subject to change. This approach is further enabled with the use of interactive technologies which can be designed to encourage questioning and interrogation through exploration. Informed by these considerations, this research presents a new interpretative framework for archaeological reconstruction. Underpinned by an interpretative theoretical framework, the research design employs hermeneutically driven research methods to investigate the perceptual features of one structure. However, archaeological visualisation is an attempt to envision a socially constructed and lived ancient space. As such a transdisciplinary approach is needed to gather evidence that explores socio-historical context, spatial practices, perceptual features, and the experience of the contained space (e.g., qualities of air, light, and sound). This framework is explored using the case study of reconstructing two phases of Middle Bronze Age temples at Pella in Jordan. As the case study investigates ancient cult space, interpretative investigations are supplemented with consideration of theoretical concepts of sacred space. The outcome of these investigations is then interrogated using visualisation tools (including schematic diagramming, 3D modelling, and digital simulations of light). Through the visualisation process, experimentation, contextualisation, and further visual-spatial enquiry and reflection is enabled. Using an interpretative framework of reconstruction, a prototype of an interactive digital experience was produced in Unreal Engine 5. Two phases of the temple sequence, with a limited number of plausible exemplars, were explored in this digital environment, where various interactions with form, light and colour can be experienced. The temple reconstructions have also been contextualised within a digital landscape of Middle Bronze Age Pella. As a prototype, these outcomes represent the starting point only, but nevertheless demonstrate that when visualisation practice is approached as a process of critical re-engagement with source material and current archaeological research, a more holistic interpretation, and a richer understanding of ancient space emerges. This, paired with the ability to negotiate several reconstruction hypotheses, and experiment with the experience of light and form in the digital environment, opens discussion and allows new questions to be explored.