Archaeological Open-Air Museum

The Iberian Citadel of Calafell is a centre of experimental archaeology, an archaeological open-air museum where visitors can see what life was like in the Iron Age 2,500 years ago. It is the first archaeological site in the Iberian Peninsula to have been reconstructed by using experimental archaeological techniques.

Butser Ancient Farm is situated in the South East of England, approximately 50 miles to the south of London. The concept of replicating an ancient farm began life in 1970 as a research project developed by the Council for British Archaeology and the Research Committee on Ancient Agriculture from the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Kanzach is a small village north of the Federsee in Southern Germany, counting about 500 inhabitants. In the years 2000-2004, a LEADER+ EU project was taking place here, resulting in a tourist attraction at the country side: a reconstruction of a small stronghold of the lower nobility as it could have been in the 14th century.

The tragedy or what might have happened ... A man is fleeing up a mountainside, his pursuers hard on his heels. He flinches. A flint arrowhead had just pierced his left shoulder blade and penetrated deeply into the flesh.

About 90 kilometers southeast of Hamburg, at the B216 between Lüneburg and Dannenberg, the small village of Hitzacker is situated on the west bank of the Elbe. For decades, this river was dividing between East and West Germany. The river bank here is an archaeological reservation, with many remains from the Bronze Age.

Since 2005, a Bronze Age Farm under (re-)construction as a place for educational and experimental archaeology. The project started as an initiative of the community of Uelsen, which financed roughly half of the amount required (ca. 90.000 Euros) for the building of the central house. The other half came from the EU (Euregio).

After 15 years of preparation, 1994 the first Dutch archaeological theme park opened in Alphen aan den Rijn, not far from The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam, an area which houses 6 million inhabitants. Archeon covers 10,000 years of human development in the Netherlands. From hunter-gatherers in the Stone Age and farmers in the Bronze and Iron Ages, through the Roman period and right up to everyday life in 1340 AD, “Archaeo-interpreters” show what life was like in “their time” in the 43 reconstructed buildings

Southeast of Bielefeld near the Teutoburger Forrest, one finds the Archäologisches Freilichtmuseum Oerlinghausen (AFM), originally founded by the “Reichsverband für Deutsche Vorgeschichte” as a political presentation of the Germanic people. The combination of man, nature and technique is made tangible and understandable here.

The new exhibition in the Hunebedcentrum takes you back to the time of your earliest ancestors: the hunebed builders who lived here 5,000 years ago. Interactive games, dioramas and informative displays tell the stories of these prehistoric people. Outside you can visit the largest hunebed in the Netherlands, and in the Prehistoric Park you will come face to face with these ancient people.