Digital approaches for public outreach in cultural heritage: The case study of iGuide Knossos and Ariadne's Journey

Abstract

While we observe an ongoing interest in approaching cultural heritage analysis through digital design disciplines, protection policies aiming to preserve antiquities at times inhibit such methodologies and their efforts to convey the complexity of archaeological research in accessible ways. Τhe protocols of preserving antiquities often allow limited interaction between archaeological findings and society at large. Within this context, the intangible nature of digital media provides significant opportunities to visualise cultural heritage without interfering with the physical monument itself, thus allowing for multiplicity of interpretation and approach. Digital reconstructions provide researchers and multiple publics with databases of assets which can be used for the research of new associations, as well as experimentation with innovative means of public outreach. This paper presents the methodology of two such projects at the intersection of cultural heritage and digital design, iGuide Knossos and Ariadne's Journey, developed in Athens, Greece between in the years 2013–2019.