History app highlights tourism opportunity

Finding London’s Roman ruins amid the tangle of the modern city streets is a challenge for even the most experienced urban explorer, but a new free app should make it a lot easier.

Streetmuseum Londinium, created by the Museum of London, helps history buffs find sites built during the Roman occupation.

It overlays a Roman-era map on a present-day Google map, allowing navigation using GPS. Users can find both above-ground sites and treasures long since built over.

The app also includes audio and video, which recreate imagined scenarios for users to watch during their walk.

In addition, the app has up to 200 images of artifacts from the museum’s collection, which can be shared on Twitter or Facebook.

“The app is going to tell people about so many different aspects of Roman life, from what sort of underpants Romans wore… to what sort of food they ate,” a museum spokesperson says.

As tourism takes a dive in Australia, perhaps there are opportunities for app developers to give the industry a boost by showcasing the country’s history.