Archaeological Open-Air Museum

How to Make a Medieval Town Come Alive – the Use of Volunteers in Living History

Author(s)
Pia Bach 1 ✉,
Thit Birk Petersen 1
Publication Date
2018 EXARC in Kernave
***For over 25 years The Medieval Centre/Middelaldercentret in Nykøbing F. Denmark has used volunteers to inhabit the reconstructed medieval town of Sundkøbing. To combine the use of volunteers and living history is not easy or something that happens spontaneously. It is hard work and requires patience, strength and firmness, but also...

From Gastonia to Gotha: My Thoughts and Impressions on doing Museum Work

Author(s)
Doug Meyer 1
Publication Date
What I consider my first real museum work came from a message on my phone on January 9th from Ann Tippitt, the Director of the Schiele Museum in Gastonia, North Carolina. Ann asked if I was interested in outfitting a Catawba Indian mannequin for the exhibit. Ann wanted a complete set of clothes, weapons and gear...

History in Motion: Colonial Williamsburg

Author(s)
Nikola Krstović 1
Publication Date
Boundaries are always an interesting topic. In the framework of the current heritage buzz word decolonization, boundaries might also represent what is “colonised” in every cultural enterprise, or to be more specific, how and why some form of power obtruded its authority, and to what extent. Like almost all other museums, Colonial Williamsburg deals with the past. The past has its own boundaries that...

Vacation in the Past - Effective Heritage Interpretation through Education

Author(s)
Réka Vasszi 1
Publication Date
2018 EXARC in Kernave
***Heritage sites are breathing memories from the past; however, visitors can hardly imagine or experience the ancient life on the spot. In fact, these visits are supposed to conjure up journeys back into the past and park managers should facilitate such experiences by the most effective means possible in order to help tourists gain...

Castrum Corcagiensis - Roman Experimental Archaeology in Ireland

Author(s)
Martin McAree 1
Publication Date
Barrack blocks were a central feature in any Roman fort and functioned as the living spaces for a Century and its officers. While Roman forts varied in size from just over an acre for a simple ‘numerius’ fort, to over 55 acers for some large ‘legionary’ forts such as Deva (Chester), the layout of a barrack block...

Build It and They Will Come: Managing Archaeological Open-Air Museums in Britain for Stability

Author(s)
Lydia Woolway 1
Publication Date
Museums are among the most visited attractions in the UK (ALVA 2015), and with interactive displays and active engagement becoming more commonplace, this success can be capitalised on by archaeological open-air museums. Some European archaeological open-air museums entertain many visitors per year, although most are smaller institutions (Paardekooper 2012)...

Prehistoric Beekeeping in Central Europe - a Themed Guided Tour at Zeiteninsel, Germany

Author(s)
Sonja Guber 1
Publication Date
Over the past few years, beekeeping has been a media focal point. Nevertheless There is a paucity of knowledge surrounding the prehistory of beekeeping outside of the information from the east and south Mediterranean regions...

“Days of Living Archaeology” at the Prehistoric Archaeopark Vsestary, Czech Republic

Author(s)
Radomír Tichý 1
Publication Date
Until recently, the presentation of archaeology in the Czech Republic was solely connected to classic museum exhibitions. Unfortunately, not all museums have archaeological exhibitions. For example, the National Museum in Prague currently does not have any, not even temporary, archaeological exhibition due to the reconstruction of the historical building...

Museums as Good Places

Author(s)
David Anderson 1
Publication Date

It was a bold and challenging brief. The trustees decided to commission two alternative reports. They invited Patrick Geddes, the pioneering biologist, sociologist, environmentalist, social reformer and city planner, to produce one of these, and T. H. Mawson the other. For Geddes, this was an opportunity to bring together his life's work across many disciplines in one visionary scheme. He spent months, with the assistance of a photographer, recording almost every square yard of the city, before submitting his plan.

The Potential for Open-Air Sites: a Diversified Approach in Emilia, Italy

Author(s)
Davide Delpiano 1 ✉,
Francesco Garbasi 1,
Filippo Fontana 2
Publication Date
The development of open-air cultural heritage and archaeological areas is based upon their optimal safeguarding and management, and through the public awareness they generate. In this paper, considering different management issues and end goals, we will demonstrate how, through cooperation among specialized professionals, local authorities and ...