Domain: Humanities and Social Sciences — Archaeology
Target concept: Roman Denarius

Video generation prompt: A camera rotates around the display case, capturing ancient coins: Roman denarius silver coins.

Evaluation guide:
Target Concept: Roman denarius is a standardized silver coin issued by the Roman state (c. 211 BCE–238 CE), serving as both currency and imperial propaganda. Minimum mechanistic assumptions: (1) Coins are rigid, opaque, metallic objects with fixed geometry and die-struck relief; (2) Glass display cases introduce predictable refraction/reflection; (3) Rotational cinematography generates lawful changes in lighting, perspective, and parallax. Phased Storyline: [Phase 1: Static Front View]. Clear establishment of case, coins, label, and frontal coin features (portrait + legend). [Phase 2: Progressive Rotation]. Gradual reveal of relief depth via shifting highlights/shadows; legibility of inscription tested across angles; consistent silver tone verified under varying incidence. [Phase 3: Full-Circle Confirmation]. Return to front view with identical framing/contrast, closing causal loop and verifying rigidity, material stability, and typological fidelity. Visibility Constraints: Inscription readability and a sense of relief should hold up to moderately oblique viewing angles (roughly up to 45–60° off-axis), consistent with the way real engraved text foreshortens; some loss of legibility beyond that range is expected and acceptable; no occlusion by case edges or mounts; lighting must avoid glare that suppresses relief detail.

Manual:
Roman Denarius Silver Coin Demonstration Instructions
I. Basic Demonstration Information
Demonstration Title: Roman Denarius Silver Coin Visual Identification Demonstration
Subject: Humanities and Social Sciences – Archaeology – Ancient Numismatics
Demonstration Purpose: By capturing a continuous 360° camera rotation around a glass display case containing authentic Roman denarius silver coins, this demonstration enables visual recognition of the coin's defining archaeometric features — circular shape, uniform silver-gray metallic luster, raised relief portraiture (typically emperor's bust on obverse), and standardized Latin inscriptions (e.g., "DIVVS AUGUSTUS" or "IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS"). It supports mastery of typological analysis, material authenticity cues, and contextual interpretation in archaeological numismatics.

II. Demonstration Carrier/Equipment
Core Carrier: Authentic or high-fidelity replica Roman denarius coins (1st–2nd c. CE, silver content ≥85%, diameter 18–20 mm, weight 3.2–3.9 g), mounted upright on neutral-toned archival foam within a clear, anti-reflective glass display case (30×30×30 cm, front-facing transparent panel, matte black interior lining).
Auxiliary Equipment: Motorized rotating turntable (for smooth 360° horizontal motion), DSLR/mirrorless camera on a motorized gimbal (fixed focal length lens, framing and exposure adjusted for a clean, evenly lit shot), diffused studio lighting (two 5000K softboxes at 45° angles to eliminate glare while preserving metal sheen), tripod-mounted label card (outside case, legible, stating "ROMAN DENARIUS • SILVER • 1ST–2ND CENTURY CE").

III. Demonstration Content Description
Layout: Place display case centrally on stable platform under even illumination. Ensure coins are fully visible—no overlapping, no obscuring shadows, no condensation on glass. Coins oriented with obverse (portrait side) facing outward; at least three denarii displayed, spaced ≥3 cm apart for individual feature resolution.
State Control: Camera begins stationary front-facing, then executes one full clockwise 360° rotation at a steady, even pace (15 seconds total), maintaining fixed focus and consistent framing (case fills 70–85% of frame throughout).
Comparison Baseline: No other coin types (e.g., sestertius, aureus) or modern imitations present; background and lighting identical across all rotational angles to isolate denarius-specific features.

IV. Observation of Core Phenomena
Shape & Scale: All coins appear circular and consistently sized relative to one another and to the case; edges are slightly bevelled but uninterrupted—no clipping, warping, or irregular contours.
Material & Color: Uniform cool-toned silver-gray metallic surface with soft specular highlights (not mirror-bright nor dull gray); no gold plating, copper reddishness, or green patina (excluding minimal natural toning on high-relief areas). Surface shows fine die-struck grain, not cast porosity or laser-etched flatness.
Obverse Relief: Clear, raised imperial portrait (e.g., Trajan or Hadrian) with anatomically coherent facial features (defined eyes, nose, laurel wreath or aegis), directional light-shadow contrast confirming a visibly raised, three-dimensional relief.
Reverse Inscription & Imagery: Legible Latin legend in capital letters (e.g., "TR POT COS III"); accompanying iconography (e.g., Victory standing, temple façade) rendered in matching relief height and stylistic consistency with obverse.
Characteristic Stability: Throughout rotation, coin features remain geometrically stable (no morphing, scaling, or perspective distortion inconsistent with rigid-body motion); inscription remains readable at moderately oblique angles, with some natural loss of legibility expected only at more extreme oblique angles due to foreshortening; silver luster and relief depth stay perceptually consistent as the light incidence changes.
Auxiliary Comparison: Label card remains fixed and legible across entire rotation; black interior lining ensures high contrast—no chromatic aberration or false color fringing observed at coin edges.

V. Summary of Key Knowledge Points and Principles
Core Concept Definition: The Roman denarius was the principal silver coin of the Roman Republic and early Empire (c. 211 BCE–c. 238 CE), standardized in weight, alloy, and iconographic program as an instrument of imperial authority, economic integration, and historical record.
Archaeometric Recognition Principles:
• Material Fidelity: High-purity silver exhibits distinct reflectance (low yellow bias, medium-high diffuse + controlled specular component), distinguishable from billon (silver-copper alloy) or plated base metals.
• Die-Struck Morphology: Authentic denarii show sharp, consistent relief with die-sink lines and minor doubling—never pixelated, smoothed, or AI-homogenized surfaces.
• Typological Consistency: Portraiture evolves chronologically (e.g., Augustus' idealized youth → Vespasian's veristic age); inscription syntax and abbreviations follow strict epigraphic conventions.
Further Knowledge: Denarii are primary chronological anchors in excavation contexts; wear patterns, find clustering, and metallurgical assays (XRF) corroborate visual identification—this demo focuses solely on non-invasive macroscopic recognition.

VI. Demonstration Precautions
Authenticity Safeguard: Replicas must replicate silver alloy optical properties—not just color, but micro-reflectance behavior under angled light. Avoid polished stainless steel or aluminum substitutes that lack tonal complexity.
Lighting Integrity: Soft, diffuse lighting essential—harsh point sources cause specular saturation (erasing relief) or deep shadow collapse (hiding inscription). Monitor for moiré through glass; use polarizing filter if needed.
Camera Rigidity: The rotation must look smooth and steady from frame to frame with no visible wobble; noticeable zoom creep or focus breathing would undermine the sense of relief depth.
Temporal Constraint: Full rotation completed in exactly 15 seconds (aligned to video generation limit); no slow-motion or time-lapse—real-time motion preserves causal continuity of viewpoint change.

Prompt Grounding rubric:
level_1: No display case or coins appear at all, or what appears are clearly not silver Roman denarii (e.g., gold or bronze coins, or coins in a completely different shape); there is no rotation around the case; if a label is present, it names the wrong coin type entirely (e.g., "Greek Tetradrachm").
level_2: The display case and coins are visible but heavily blurred, occluded, or so small (well under roughly 10% of the frame height) they're hard to make out; the coins look non-circular (oval or angular) or have an obviously wrong color (bright yellow-gold or mirror-bright rather than silver-gray); the camera's rotation is jerky or stops well short of a full turn (covering distinctly less than half the loop, well under 180°); a label is present but states the wrong era (e.g., "Byzantine" or "Medieval") or the wrong material.
level_3: The display case and coins are both clearly visible, and the camera completes a full loop around the case, though with noticeable wobble or inconsistent framing along the way; the coins read as circular and silver-gray but look flat, without much sense of raised relief; any inscription is illegible once the camera gets past roughly a 45° side angle; a label is present and correctly says "Roman" and "silver" but leaves out the century or gives an incorrect one.
level_4: The camera completes a full, smooth loop around the case; the coins are circular, consistently silver-gray with a believable metallic sheen; the portrait side is recognizable as a face from most angles; the inscription lettering is at least partly readable up to roughly a 60° oblique angle; a label is present, accurate, and readable, even if its type is a bit small or low-contrast.
level_5: The camera's loop around the case is smooth and steady throughout, with no wobble breaking the sense of continuous rotation; the glass case shows no distracting glare or double-image reflections; the coins all look consistently sized relative to each other and to the case, with sharp raised relief that reads as a real struck portrait rather than a flat image; the inscription stays legible even beyond roughly 60° off-axis, well past head-on, with only the most extreme grazing angles showing the natural loss of legibility expected from foreshortening; the silver-gray tone and its highlight shifts look consistent as the camera moves; the label is fully legible, well-centered text matching the coin's identity.

Scientific and Causal Correctness rubric:
level_1: The coins do something physically impossible for a solid metal object: they float free of any mount, they visibly melt or deform as the camera moves, they emit light or sound of their own, or the imagery/text on them is obviously modern or wrong (e.g., a dollar sign, a copyright mark, non-Latin script, or a non-human portrait).
level_2: The coins keep their shape but don't read as metal: the surface looks wet, plastic, or painted-on rather than struck metal; any relief looks unnaturally smooth or blocky rather than sculpted; any inscription looks like flat overlaid text (e.g., an obvious drop-shadow or a font that doesn't match ancient lettering) rather than part of the coin's surface; the highlight on the coin doesn't track with the camera's rotation in any believable way.
level_3: The coins stay solid, static in the case, and consistently silver-gray in tone; some raised relief is present but shallow or indistinct; the lettering reads as Latin-style capitals even if individual words aren't fully decipherable; a label states "Roman silver coin" or similar without naming a specific era or emperor; the highlight on the coin's surface does shift as the camera rotates, but doesn't clearly track the raised portrait or lettering.
level_4: The coins behave like rigid, mounted metal objects with no unnatural flex or reflectivity beyond a plausible silver sheen; the relief is confirmed by shifting highlight and shadow as the camera moves around it; the inscription reads as authentic-looking Latin capitals (recognizable abbreviation style, e.g., letters resembling "IMP" or "COS") without modern typography mixed in; the portrait has a coherent human face with period-appropriate styling (e.g., a bust with hair/beard rendered in relief, not a flat photo-like image).
level_5: The full cause-and-effect chain holds together: as the camera rotates, the highlight and shadow on each coin shift together in a way that clearly reveals the raised portrait and lettering as true 3-D relief rather than a printed image; the Latin lettering keeps a consistent, plausible ancient-inscription style at every angle; the portrait's styling (facial features, hair, any wreath or headwear) stays coherent and consistent with a struck imperial likeness; nothing in the scene breaks this coherence with a modern object, a flat/printed look, or an impossible material behavior.

Spatiotemporal Consistency rubric:
level_1: The camera's viewpoint jumps abruptly between very different positions (e.g., cutting from the front of the case to directly overhead, or appearing to pass through the glass); the coins visibly jump position or change size all at once; the lighting flickers wildly; the case's edges bend or converge in ways that don't match a single consistent camera path.
level_2: The camera's path drifts noticeably off a level circular sweep, bobbing up and down or tilting, rather than staying level; the coins shift position relative to the case's interior while the camera moves around them; the lighting swings between bright and dark with no clear relationship to the camera's angle; reflections on the glass don't move in a way that matches the camera's motion; there are visible skips or repeated frames in the motion.
level_3: The camera's loop around the case looks close to a level circle, with only slight wobble; the coins stay basically fixed in place, though their apparent position shifts a little at the most extreme viewing angles as expected from parallax; the lighting changes across the rotation in a generally plausible way but doesn't clearly sharpen or narrow the highlight as the angle gets more oblique; reflections are visible on the glass but don't obviously anchor to a consistent light source position.
level_4: The camera's rotation reads as smooth and level, with no visible bobbing or tilting drift; the coins keep a fixed spatial relationship to the case's interior across the whole rotation; the highlight on each coin dims and brightens in a way that matches the angle between the camera and an implied light source, growing dimmer as the surface turns away; reflections on the glass move continuously and track the camera's motion; the apparent shift in the coins' position from parallax matches the camera's path and their depth in the case.
level_5: The camera's rotation looks fully smooth and level throughout the entire loop, with no visible shake, drift, or stepping; the coins' relative depth stays consistent and correctly ordered as the camera moves around them, with nearer coins convincingly occluding farther ones; the glass case's refraction and reflections shift smoothly and continuously with the camera, never popping or warping; there is no visible frame-skipping or unnatural motion blur; every spatial relationship among the coins, the case, and the label stays coherent from the very first frame to the very last.