Session: #284

Content:

The number of visitors to archaeological sites around the world increases every year. Visitation has an impact on archaeological sites and several groups, including ICOMOS, and multiple publications have addressed the many issues, positive and negative, of increased archaeotourism. In this session, rather than discussing the impact of tourists on archaeological sites, we would like to consider the site’s impact on the visitor. How are archaeological sites presented to the public? What does a visitor see and experience and how does that compare to what they expect to see and experience? Does the visitor leave with a clear understanding of the site and its interpretation?

Furthermore, what a visitor sees is the result of decisions made by site planners and managers. How are sites interpreted and presented to the public? Who makes the decisions about what should be shown and not shown? How do we decide what point or period in the site’s history is to be represented? What are the influences (historical accuracy, tourism, nationalism, among others) that affect decision-making? What is the archaeologists’ responsibility in terms of assisting and aiding with interpretations? What do we want the visitors to take away from their visit?

Finally, how are new technologies affecting interpretation and presentation? What is the role of digital technology, such as virtual reality and 3D, in presenting sites? Does virtual presentation take precedence over physical reconstructions? Are physical site visits even necessary anymore?

In this session, we want to discuss how archaeological sites are visualized, interpreted, and presented to the public. We invite papers from archaeologists, site managers, tourism experts, preservationists, and others involved with archaeological site presentation for the public.

Session: #284

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