Archaeological Open-Air Museum

Everybody Else is doing It, so Why Can’t We? Low-tech and High-tech Approaches in Archaeological Open-Air Museums

Author(s)
Roeland Paardekooper 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2019/4
Some people believe that an open-air museum is a place where you leave your modern technique behind and go ‘low tech’. Other than the museums which act like digital free zones, many others experiment with going digital. Where experience and storytelling have always been the central concepts of archaeological open-air museums, exactly these ideas are behind many digital techniques. We have to...

Swifterkamp, Prehistorische Nederzetting (NL)

Member of EXARC
Yes

The “new Land” Flevoland in the Netherlands is not only home to many people, it also contains some splendid nature. In one of the nature parks, at Lelystad, a Stone Age settlement is situated. This area was home to Neolithic farmers before it got too wet and flooded.

The story of Swifterkamp begins with the meeting of some lecturers and someone from Staatsbosbeheer (the Dutch Forestry Commission) who all shared a great passion for archaeology. Their wish to create a Prehistoric settlement in Flevoland for educational purposes soon became reality...

Chavdar Municipality - Archaeological Park Topolnitsa (BG)

Member of EXARC
Yes

The village of Chavdar is located in Western Bulgaria, Sofia region, Chavdar Municipality. It is accessible via the “Podbalcan” road (I-6), one of the main first-class roads in Bulgaria. The village is located 71 km east of the capital of the country and 11 km southwest of Zlatitsa. Chavdar Municipality is part of the Zlatishko-Pirdop hollow with an average altitude of 570 m.

It consists of one village – Chavdar, which makes it the smallest in Bulgaria. Unlike the other hollows to the south of the Balkan, the Zlatishko-Pirdop hollow is characterized by low temperatures. Visitors who enjoy mountain tourism can visit the chalets “Bratia” and “Sakarja”, situated high in the Sashtinska Sredna Gora Mountain, and the natural phenomenon “The Kazans”.

Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture (JP)

Member of EXARC
No

The Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture is one of the few museums in Japan dedicated to the history of international exchange. The Museum holds approximately 81,000 objects in its precious collection, including historical documents, art and craftworks that tell the story of Nagasaki, the sole window open to foreign countries during the period of Japan’s national isolation. 

In addition, part of the Nagasaki Magistrate's Office (a local agency of the central government in the Edo period called bugyōsho) has been faithfully reconstructed based on historical materials, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of feudal Japan. The craft center offers hands-on classes of Nagasaki’s traditional crafts.

Engaging Diverse Audiences at the Archaeological Open-Air Museum Düppel in Berlin – Practical Examples and New Strategies

Author(s)
Julia Heeb 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2019/3
2018 EXARC in Kernave
***In 1939, a boy called Horst Trzeciak was playing on a piece of land on the outskirts of Berlin. While playing, he found a number of pottery sherds. In an exemplary fashion he brought the sherds to the “Märkisches Provinzialmuseum”, which was, at that time, the city museum of Berlin...

Bostel di Rotzo & Museo Archeologico Sette Comuni (MASC) (IT)

Member of EXARC
Yes

The Bostel di Rotzo is located in the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni on a well-defended plateau where the Assa and the Astico valleys meet, north of Vicenza and only a few kilometers from Asiago. Bostel di Rotzo is the first permanent village in the 'Sette Comuni Altopiano' to have been steadily settled by ancient people throughout the second half of the Iron Age (5th – 1st century BC).

The Bostel di Rotzo is located in the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni on a well-defended plateau where the Assa and the Astico valleys meet, north of Vicenza and only a few kilometers from Asiago. Bostel di Rotzo is the...

Historiecenter Dybbøl Banke (DK)

Member of EXARC
Yes

We are in the dramatic year 1864. The Battle on the 18th of April was the most bloody in Denmark in the Newer Era, the last big battle on Danish soil. Denmark is at war with the large powers of Europe: Prussia and Austria.

We are in the dramatic year 1864. The Battle on the 18th of April was the most bloody in Denmark in the Newer Era, the last big battle on Danish soil. Denmark is at war with the large powers of Europe: Prussia and Austria...

Colonial Williamsburg: Archaeology, Interpretation & Phenomenology

Author(s)
Peter Inker 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2019/3
2018 EXARC in Kernave
***When I began investigating this conference I was unclear as to how well EXARC’s focus on experimental archaeology would blend with International Museum Theatre Alliance (Imtal)’s approach of museum theatre and interpretation. They seem after all, two very different disciplines...

Randa Ardesca - Archéosite d'Ardèche (FR)

Member of EXARC
Yes

Randa Ardesca - Archéosite d'Ardèche is an open-air museum which was founded in 2013 in the French department of Ardèche, and open to the public since 2014. It was founded by professionals of Living History, crafts, culture and communication, willing to have a permanent place to conduct experiments, and bring living history to the eye of the public to share their work and passion. Their project was to introduce to the public historical periods which are rarely, if ever presented in the other open-air musems of south-eastern France, namely the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Early Middle Ages, all based on archaeological records from the surrounding area. The project is now carried by a group of 16 co-presidents surrounded by volunteers.

The site's constructions are built with historical materials and techniques, most of the time in front of the public. Regularly, the site offers to anyone who wishes to partake in the adventure the occasion to join the building team, may they be experienced in historical construction or complete neophytes. These are crucial times of the year for us, allowing us to share the experience acquired over the course of the years, and to learn from people with different skillsets. This also make Randa Ardesca a very evolutive site, having each year something new to show the public.

Pentref Oes Haearn Castell Henllys (UK)

Member of EXARC
Yes

Castell Henllys Iron Age Village is an established visitor centre and heritage site near Newport in North Pembrokeshire where the experience promises to take the visitor back in time and immerse the senses in Iron Age life. It is the only reconstructed Iron Age village in the UK where the roundhouses and granary have been built on the site of the original post holes. The hill-fort has also become one of the most prominent images of Welsh prehistory.

Castell Henllys is an established visitor centre and heritage site near Newport in North Pembrokeshire where the experience promises to take the visitor back in time and immerse the senses in Iron Age life. It is the only reconstructed Iron Age village in the UK where the roundhouses and granary have been built on the site of the original post holes...