Interpretation

A Broken Leg in the Year 1350: Treatment and Prognosis

Wiel van der Mark (NL)
EXARC Journal Issue 2016/2
Interpretation
It is the year 1350 in Gravendam (the medieval town of the archaeological open-air museum, (AOAM) Archeon, in the Netherlands). Master Roelof, a wood-and-bone processor, lies unconscious on the stone floor. Shortly before this, he had been climbing the ladder to the attic to grab a log of wood, but it slipped from under him and he ended on the floor...

Spiral Tube Decorations: a Thousand Years of Tradition

Riina Rammo and
Jaana Ratas (EE)
EXARC Journal Issue 2016/2
Interpretation
An overview of finds, their regional spread and significance though the ages. The spiral tubes are made of an alloy that consists of copper supplemented mainly with zinc and/or tin (Rammo, Ratas 2015, table 1). The outer diameter of the spiral tubes usually range from 2.5 to 5 mm. Woollen and linen threads as well as horse hairs, were used to join spiral tubes into decorations...

The Value of Experience: Lessons from a Study of Reenactment

Samantha Hartford (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2016/1
Interpretation
It is no secret that in many ways experimental archaeology overlaps with what has come to be called experiential archaeology, an interpretive and humanistic approach to the past. As a result of drawing distinct lines between the two, experimental archaeology struggles with its conception of itself, and experiential archaeology is poorly studied.

What Does Your Visitor Experience? Making the Most of Live Interpretation in a Unique Setting

Marc van Hasselt (NL)
EXARC Journal Issue 2015/3
Interpretation
OpenArch Special Digest 2015 Issue 2
***Archaeological Open-Air Museums (AOAM) offer a unique setting in which live interpretation can make history come truly alive. For many, or perhaps all, AOAM history is the product being sold to the public. During the five years the OpenArch project has run the partners have spent many hours discussing the...

Museum Theatre in Greece: Perspectives in Site Interpretation

Foteini Venieri and
Nikonanou Niki (GR)
EXARC Journal Issue 2015/2
Interpretation

Introduction

Museum theatre as an umbrella-term is used to describe a variety of performative events aimed to interpret fragments of cultural heritage. In the framework of one of the main challenges contemporary museums face, that of having a social impact while dealing with heritage, whom values and narratives can always be “contested and disputed” (Smith 2011, 70), museum theatre has proved that not only can it enforce a constructivist approach in a museum environment but it can also generate debate and promote critical thinking on controversial issues (Farthing 2010).

Putting on a Show - The How and Why of Historical Shows and Theatre in a Historical Setting or Theme-park

Jaap Hogendoorn (NL) and
Erik Collinson (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2015/1
Interpretation
As long as people have walked the earth, stories have been told; from stories around the campfire told by older people to entertain and educate the young, to 15th century knights dressing up as Romans during themed tournaments. Telling a story is putting on a little show; a show is a great way to tell a story... Including Spartacus in Archeon by Erik Collinson

Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) and Reenactment - Concept, Problems, Approaches in Our Experience

Gábor Fábián (HU)
EXARC Journal Issue 2014/2
Interpretation

There are several reasons why this is so. First of all, re-enactment itself started with the recreation of battles; the tradition goes back all the way to the Roman Empire (for example the naumachia scene during the opening of the Flavian Amphitheatre)