The Digital Hadrian's Villa Project: Using virtual worlds to control suspected solar alignments

This paper discusses how the Digital Hadrian's Villa Project has used virtual world technology to control the validity of a claimed alignment between the sun's position at sunset on the summer solstice during the reign of Hadrian (117-138 CE) and the tower structure at Hadrian's Villa known as Roccabruna. The conclusion is reached that virtual world technology is usefully applied in investigations of this kind.