Archaeological Exhibition Research Articles

Archaeological Exhibitions in the Present: Beyond Object Admiration

Archaeological Exhibitions in the Present: Beyond Object Admiration

Relics and rapprochement: The intricacies of cultural diplomacy in China’s first archaeological exhibition in the U.S. during the Cold War era

ABSTRACT ‘The Exhibition of Archaeological Finds of the People’s Republic of China’ was unveiled at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in December 1974. It was the first exhibition of Chinese archaeological relics organised by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the United States. This occasion marked a significant moment in Sino-American relations and cultural exchange during the Cold War. This paper explores the intricacies of the planning, organisation, and curation of the exhibition, highlighting the strategic use of cultural diplomacy by China to promote its state ideology on an international scale. This paper argues that the exhibition had far-reaching implications for US–China relationship at the time. On one hand, it represented a significant step towards cultural engagement and rapprochement between the two nations. On the other hand, it served to disrupt the relationship further by exposing ideological differences and triggering contentions. Thus, the exhibition’s impact on US–China relations was complex and multifaceted, reflecting the delicate act of cultural diplomacy in the context of Cold War politics.

Análise histórica expográfica: uma visão geral da exposição principal do Museu Arqueológico do Pireu

This study focuses on the historical analysis of the core exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, and its relationship with the museum's history and the city. The core exhibition organization has remained unchanged since 1998, although some changes have occurred in the exhibit rooms over the years, such as the addition of new objects, some elements, or loaned pieces for exhibition outside the country. The study is limited by the availability of sources and the specific context of the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, and the findings may not be applicable to all archaeological museums. However, the study has important implications for the analysis and design of archaeological exhibitions and the potential use of urban space. This study contributes to the growing body of museum design research on historical exhibition analysis by using a mixed-methods approach such as site visit, bibliography, and archive documents to examine exhibitions.

Керамические материалы на выставке археологического наследия Южного Приаралья из фондов Государственного музея искусств Республики Каракалпакстан им. И.В. Савицкого

Analysis of the archaeological exhibition organised by I.V. Savitsky State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, sheds light on the chronological framework of the archaeological heritage of the Southern Aral Sea Region. For the first time, the thematic exposition reveals the degree of available information on Ancient Khorezm monuments in terms of the ceramic production development and its relevance for studying the history of material culture. The exhibition acquires special significance in the context of the popularisation of historical science as a way to preserve the historical and cultural heritage in modern society. The display of the collections is a natural result of the work of several generations of the Khorezm archaeological and ethnographic expedition archaeologists, as well as the actual Karakalpak school of archeology. The exhibition of archaeological collections stirs interest in further research, promotes the popularisation of science, and stimulates the tourism industry development. It is a token of appreciation of sorts to the academic community, discoverers of the history of ancient and medieval culture, the creators of the Karakalpak school of archeology.

Displaying Archaeology and Circulating Knowledge

Abstract This article explores the role of archaeological exhibitions organized at international archaeological congresses in the circulation of scientific knowledge in the nineteenth century. It does so through the case study of the exhibition organized at the 8th Congrès international d’anthropologie et d’archéologie préhistoriques (CIAAP; International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archaeology) which was held in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, Hungary, in 1876. The article discusses the exhibition’s curation and impact by analyzing key publications, newspaper articles, and archival documents. It examines the exhibitors’ backgrounds, along with the selection and arrangement of the displayed objects. It also highlights the exhibition’s press coverage and the discussions it generated among the international and domestic participants. The article concludes that the exhibition contributed to creating international scholarly networks, multi- and pluridisciplinary collaborations, as well as international visibility and public support for prehistoric archaeology in Hungary.

Digital Creativity and the Regional Museum: Experimental Collaboration at the Convergence of Immersive Media and Exhibition Design

This paper presents the findings of the Within the Walls of York Gaol, an interdisciplinary and collaborative practice-based research project which was established to examine the intersection between emerging forms of immersive media, game design, and contemporary archaeological exhibition design. The project was a collaboration between researchers and practitioners at York Museums Trust, The University of York, and the University of Glasgow and used co-design methods to design and produce two immersive installations in the prison cells at York Castle Museum in collaboration with community groups. The project sought to re-think the role of the museum within regional creative economies and to argue for the importance of the regional museum as a hub for digital design and innovation. Through innovative forms of collaborative research practice the project was able to develop new understandings of the ways in which collaborative approaches to the design and development of interactive digital media can be used to build skilled communities of practice around regional museums. The project took a critical stance to the use of immersive media technologies and led to the development of innovative and highly distinctive digital immersive installations which emerged in response to the specific opportunities and design requirements of museums and their audiences. This paper will set out the findings of this project as well as identify new creative directions and new forms of collaborative design practice which can be adopted and adapted for use across the museum sector.

Protection and popularization of archaeological heritage as an object of activity of a nongovernmental organisation supported by a university – an example of medieval ducal tower in Siedlęcin near Jelenia Góra

The tower in Siedlęcin near Jelenia Góra is one of the best-preserved keeps in Central Europe. Since the beginning of the 21st century it has been open to visitors. In 2008 archaeological research of the tower and its surroundings was started, two years later the Association ‘Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin’ was established.The cooperation between Jagiellonian University and the nongovernmental organisation led to the implementation of several projects to protect, and popularize the archaeological heritage. Researchers provided some of the ideas and substantive support, the NGO participated in the conceptual and implementation stages and maintained the effects of the activities (ona year-round basis).The effects of cooperation were substantial (archaeological exhibition and reserve), organisational (heritage trails, camps for volunteers) and educational (guidebooks dedicated to the children). Activities developed in Siedlęcin during the recent years allowed creating a complete product (on a scale achievable under those conditions), which as a ‘good practice’ was implemented at another site (Wleń castle).The activities carried out around the keep in Siedlęcin by the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University and the Association ‘Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin’ were mutually beneficial and additionally contributed to strengthening the local community and helped achieve local self-government tasks in the field of heritage protection.

Reflections on an Unreflected Sphere - Archaeological Exhibitions and Nationalism

There is an open nationalism, clearly stated through national symbols as well as through various rituals. However, there is also an underlying form of nationalism, operating on a structural level, so obvious that it becomes "invisible". This is not only true for the actions of people in general, but to a great cxtent also for the understanding of different normative institutions, not least the museums. Nationalism is included as a hidden facet in the communicating activities. This article sheds light on the role of archaeology in this context, with particular emphasis on archaeological exhibitions. At a closer look, it becomes obvious that one elementary aspect of the archaeological communicating activities is missing —the conscious reflection.

Het museum op de snijtafel: de archeologietentoonstelling onderzocht

The Anatomy of the Museum: researching the archaeological exhibition. Archaeology exhibitions tend to follow a formulaic layout. They are mostly chronologically ordered and describe long-lasting historical processes. This article aims to dissect the archaeology museum in order to study the techniques used to create these narratives separately from each other. It is argued that the architecture of the old, monumental museum buildings was designed with specific purposes in mind that coincided with how archaeology was conceived in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, the way information is employed throughout exhibitions favours long-term histories over short-term object biographies. The end result is that archaeology exhibitions are often descriptive in nature rather than explanatory. Here it is argued that this is not in line with how academic archaeology is currently practiced. And that we need to adopt a perspective that approaches history as an active process of becoming, so that links between past and present can be clearly presented in a museum context. Such exhibitions have the ability to explain not only the past, but also our present situation, and perhaps even to act as a call to action to change this situation

Van Tomb Raider naar de toekomst: de ontwikkeling van een archeologische tentoonstelling

From Tomb Raider to the future. The development of an archaeological exhibition. During the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020, master’s students of the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA) of the University of Groningen collaborated with staff of the University Museum to create the exhibition DIG IT ALL, showcasing research of the GIA. This contribution is based on an interview the author had with Arjen Dijkstra, head of the University Museum, in which Dijkstra reflected on the cooperation between the archaeology students and the museum. According to Arjen, the collaboration was a complex but rewarding project, even if some guidance was initially needed to get everyone on the same page. All in all, the project resulted in a valuable learning experience for everyone, especially the students, and, according to Dijkstra, it revealed some unique features of the archaeological profession, for instance, the way archaeologists interact with human remains and, more generally, the way they view the past. Collaborations with scientists are never perfect, according to Dijkstra, and the museum had indeed experienced less fruitful collaborations than the current one. Scientists tend to have difficulty in adapting to the specific demands of a museum when presenting research. Fortunately, this was not a problem with the DIG IT ALL project. Dijkstra highlighted that the archaeologists had already put a lot of effort into public outreach, and he encourages the GIA to keep doing this in the future.

Musealized landscapes and petrified landscapes

The text aims to reflect upon the notion of landscape in the context of exhibitions; more precisely, it aims to do so in relation to the musealization of archaeological heritage and presentation of archaeology. The last 30 years of museum transformations, referred to as “the age of museums,” and the digital shift in museology have had a significant impact on building archaeological narratives in museums and beyond. Immersive and telematic landscapes, currently being constructed in museums, allow for sensorial engagement, broadened perceptive possibilities, and more intense interest in archaeology with the use of complex and convincing visions of the past. Hence, the musealized landscape presented in this paper is to go beyond the traditional criticism of multimedia in museums; it is an attempt to appreciate the cognitive opportunities provided by modern archaeological exhibitions.

Farewell to Tradition? Presenting Archaeology after the Digital Turn

OVERVIEWThe last 20 years mark a period of transformation from a traditional model of displaying archaeology to a more immersive model supported by digital and virtual media. The traditional model has generally used glass cases accompanied by extensive texts to inform visitors, whereas the immersive model employs digital media, tablets, virtual reality, and augmented reality to attract and engage a wide audience. In light of the recent enthusiasm for the latter, however, one must ask whether such immersive exhibitions are merely superficial means to make public institutions more attractive without having a meaningful impact on audience engagement. Polish archaeological museums provide interesting sites through which to explore this predicament. Here, digital upgrades are generously financed by national funds, so the traditional model of the archaeological museum in Poland is currently almost absent. In this short review, I aim to discuss one of the most interesting examples of temporary digital archaeological exhibitions organized between 2014 and 2019 in the Polish capital of Warsaw. I investigate its potential to engage audiences, ultimately concluding that it managed to create an interesting counterweight to traditional displays and respond to the drawbacks of new digital exhibitions through novel aesthetics and alternative archaeological storytelling.

Enhanced Exhibitions? Discussing Museum Apps after a Decade of Development

OverviewThe introduction of the smartphone into the private and professional lives of humans has provided a channel to real-time and place-specific information that can enhance (and disturb) day-to-day living. Given such impact, many museums and archaeological exhibitions have chosen to develop digital applications to enhance the visitor experience via accompanying the visitor through the exhibitions. Yet after a decade, these applications still seem understudied and, in practice, very undeveloped. This review aims to shed some light on the possibilities and shortcomings of museum apps. I discuss and critically evaluate the technical efficiency, practical utility, and user experience of the British Museum Guide (Museums Guide Ltd.) and My Visit to the Louvre (Musée du Louvre) applications. These two mobile apps represent the contemporary standard for museum apps, thereby allowing me to generalize about this genre of digital media.

BRONZE SCABBARD-CHAPE AND BIMETALLIC SWORD FROM M. F. SUMTSOV KHARKIV HISTORICAL MUSEUM

In M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum archaeological collection a bronze scabbard-chape can be found, which has a form of a rhomb-shaped plug that ends with a head of a carnivorous bird. The bird’s head is conveyed by three expressive elements — an eye in the eyesocket, a beak, and a tonguelet. Chapes of such type count a bit more than twenty exemplars, which are located preferably on the Caucasus and Northern Black Sea coastal area territories. Chape was included in the so-called «Kharkiv treasure». This treasure was supposedly found by two teenagers in their yard in 1957; they gave it to the museum. The treasure is very variegated by its content and counts 236 objects of different epochs — from the Neolithic Age to the Middle Ages and modern ages. By the range of symptoms the treasure can be linked to the Archaeological exhibition opened in occupied Kharkiv in 1942 and which was demolished by the fire in February 1943. The exhibition was based on the materials of the Historical Museum collections and the Archaeological Museum of the Kharkiv University; it demonstrated as wide chronological period as the content of the «Kharkiv treasure» was — from the Stone Age to the Cossacks times. So, apparently before the war, the chape belonged to the collection of one of these museums. The loss of the accounting records of both museums prevents from determining the more precise origin of the chape.
 In the Archaeological exhibition remnants after the fire a bimetallic sword with an iron blade and bronze handle was also found. The sword and the chape belong to the same cultural and chronological context and are tied with each other functionally. At the same time, they are quite rare findings. It allows admitting a possible connection between them and their belonging to the same complex. Visually the Kharkiv chape is the closest to the findings from the Northern Black Sea coastal area, which allows defining the possible territory of origin of this complex, which is just hypothetic for now.

Out of Order: How External Multimedia Companies "Errorize" Archaeological Exhibitions

This paper discusses the influence of private companies in the museum sector. For that I will use qualitative accounts and my empirical research to evaluate and interpret the issue. This article shall present the delegation of multimedia development to outsourced companies at expense of the museum’s integrity.

Lessons learned from supplementing archaeological museum exhibitions with virtual reality

Archaeological excavations provide us with important clues about the past. Excavated artefacts represent an important connection to civilisations that no longer exist and help us understand some of their customs, traditions and common practices. With the help of academics and practitioners from various disciplines, the results of archaeological excavations can be analysed and a body of knowledge about the corresponding society can be created and shared with members of the general public. Museums have traditionally served the purpose of communicating this knowledge and backing it up with the help of the excavated artefacts. Many museum visitors, however, find it difficult to develop a coherent understanding of the corresponding society only based on the artefacts and annotations shown in museums. Effective modern techniques that have high potential in helping museum visitors with better understanding of the past are 3D reconstruction and virtual reality. 3D reconstruction offers a cost-effective way of recreating historical settlements in a computer-generated virtual environment, while virtual reality helps with immersing people into such environments and reaching a high degree of realism. With the help of these technologies, it becomes possible to relive history, imagine yourself being a part of the reconstructed society and learn about its culture firsthand. The combination of 3D reconstruction and virtual reality represents a very powerful learning tool; however, this tool has been rarely used in a museum setting and its correct use has not been properly investigated. In this paper, we present a study into using virtual reality in itinerant archaeological exhibitions. We discuss the lessons we have learned from developing an interactive virtual reality simulation of the Neolithic settlement of La Draga. These lessons feature our analysis of qualitative and quantitative feedback of museum visitors, as well as what we have learned from analysing their navigation and interaction patterns.

The White Mirror of The Ministry of Antiquities: The Role of Training the Antiquities Inspector in Achieving Tourist Satisfaction (Applying on the Temple of Hatshepsut)

The Ministry Of Antiquities Employs For Each Opened Archeological Site In Egypt A Certain Staff With A Variety Of Responsibilities And Duties. On The Top Of Each Site Staff Is The Antiquities Inspector, One Or More In The Same Site, Who Among His Main Duties; Accompanying Foreign Missions In Archaeological Excavations, Accompanying Archaeological Exhibitions Abroad, Explaining To State Guests Visiting The Archaeological Sites, And Representing The Ministry Of Antiquity In The Governorate Where He Works. Thus The Antiquities Inspector Is Acting Like A Mirror; For The Ministry In His Contacts With The Visitors Of The Site Directly And Also For The Egyptian Destination Image Abroad Indirectly. This Mirror In Order To Be White, Which Means Reflecting The Best Image For The Antiquities Inspector, He Must Receive Certain Training Programs That Are Organized By The Ministry In Cooperation With Different Archaeological And Specialized Institutions To Enhance His Performance In A Perfect Way. This Is Reflected In The Tourist Satisfaction In The Archeological Site. The Research Aims To Give An Overview On The Antiquities Inspector, His Main Responsibilities, The Required Training Programs Applying On The Archeological Site Of Hatshepsut Temple, Evaluating Both The Performance Of The Antiquities Inspector And Tourist Satisfaction. The Research Methodology Includes Qualitative And Quantitative Methods; Survey Method Using Questionnaire Instrument Will Be Used To Obtain The Primary Data And The Total Sample Of 80 Tourists Visiting Hatshepsut Temple In Luxor. The Software Of Data Analysis Used Was SPSS Version 22. The Qualitative Methods Depends On Interviews That Were Carried Out With The Antiquities Inspector In Hatshepsut Temple To Determine His Actual Needs Of Specialized Training Programs And How To Be Useful For Him In The Area Of His Work. The Main Outcome Of The Research Is Acknowledging The Positive Relationship Between The Training Of Antiquities Inspector And The Tourist Satisfaction In The Archeological Site. This Is Achieved Through Performance Training Of Staff Reflected On Their Performance And This Affects Strongly On The Tourist Satisfaction Or Dissatisfaction. Based On The Results, Some Recommendations Were Suggested To Improve The Performance Of The Antiquities Inspector.

Small Steps into the Past: Archaeology for Young Children at Dolenjska Museum, Novo Mesto, Slovenia

This paper describes an educational program for children aged 3–6 with detailed studies of one workshop, the “Archaeological sandbox,” and one project, the “Pedenjresearcher.” Each year several hundred preschool children visit archaeological exhibitions, with specially designed programs, which the children take seriously and enjoy. This experience is a positive foundation for future visits to Dolenjska Museum.

La cultura materiale della necropoli di Abakainon nell’esposizione multimediale del Museo Archeologico Santi Furnari di Tripi (ME)

The author describes the recent set up of the Archaeological Museum Santi Furnari at Tripi (ME), inaugurated in 2012, and considers it as an example of technological innovation focused on the regional territory. Thanks to the application of digital technologies during the visit, the quality and value of the archaeological exhibition has improved considerably. Recently, to complete the path of modernization, the virtual tour experience of the Museum has also been added on the web platform (http://goo.gl/maps/hqNw4). This window of innovation has stimulated a considerable increase in the number of visits which, at present, amounts to around two thousand people a year.

Pelibatan Masyarakat dalam Pengelolaan Situs Gunung Wingko, Bantul

Archaeological researches at Gunung Wingko Site, Kecamatan Sanden, Bantul, had been conducted formore than 40 years ago. Nevertheless, the results of observations, interviews, Focus Group Discussions(FGD), and archaeological exhibition on Sanden Fair 2018 indicate that the existence and the culturalsignifcance of the site had only been known by certain communities. Local people unawareness of theexistence and the cultural signifcance of the site had so far caused site damage. Terefore, a number ofaction plans have been suggested during the FGD that involved the local people and some institutionsrelevant to the case of Gunung Wingko, and have to be done as soon as possible to prevent the sitefrom further damage. Te plans comprise dissemination of the site values, the establishment of thesite as cultural heritage (Cagar Budaya), site management, and the development of a site informationcenter. Tis center could be integrated with other tourist destinations which have been establishedaround the site. In this case, local people should be involved in preparing material displayed in theGunung Wingko Site Information Center.