Executive Summary

The aim of the project was to test a new interdisciplinary methodologythat integrates the study of classical art withdigital humanities.The centralidea was to use high-definition imaging and 3D technology to compare and combine the data from two different classes of ancient materials, coinage and sculpture. These were the two principal and most widespread media through which the portraits of Roman emperors were disseminatedacross the Empire. The projectlooked atthe similaritiesand differences between portraits of the same emperorusedon each class of objects, and compared how the emperor’slikeness varied from an image designed in Rome, by the central authority, to one derived from it but created in the provinces, reflecting localartistic choices and skills.The projectfocused on the portraiture of emperor Hadrian (AD117-138)in Britain: it considered the head of a bronze statuefound in the river Thames,which was made by a local workshop, alongsideportraits of Hadrian used on the bronzecoins made in Rome for circulation in Britain(the BRITANNIA asses).3D scanning and modellingwere used to produce high-resolution three-dimensional images of these objects. They were usedto enhance the level of detail and accuracywith which ancient artefactscan be studied, and to generatea virtualreconstruction of around model of Hadrian’s portraitderivedfrom hiscoin portraits. This methodology gives the opportunity to approach the study ofancient artefacts andhuman past in anewlyengaging way, and itprovidesnew insights into the ancient image-making process.