Archaeological Open-Air Museum

Fort Necessity (US)

Member of EXARC
No

Rival claims between the French and the English to the vast territory along the Ohio River between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi approached a climax about 1750.

Fort Necessity was built in 1754 in an attempt of the British to regain control of the area form the French, who had built Fort Presque Isle near Lake Erie and Fort Le Boeuf in that part of the Ohio country claimed by Virginia. The French force immediately drove off the Virginians and built a larger fort on the site. Among others, this led to the war between the French and the British. Terrorized settlers streamed eastward and the war spread. In the ensuing decade, however, France lost all her colonies in North America and the British Empire was expanding around the globe.

Fort Hall Replica (US)

Member of EXARC
No

A visit to the Fort Hall Replica is to enter the 19th Century world of explorers, trappers, fur traders, Native Americans, pioneers, Gold seekers, historic figures, and common folk; all of whom visited the place called Fort Hall on the banks of the Snake River in what is now Southeast Idaho.

The area at the Snake River was known for centuries as a favourable fur region. The earliest white men in the region arrived in the years 1810-1812. In 1834, Mr Wyeth from New England founded Fort Hall. Not many years later however, the Hudson Bay Company constructed a rival fort near the junction of Boise River with the Snake. They named the post Fort Boise, its purpose was simply to drive Fort Hall out of business. In 1837 Wyeth sold out to the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1843, the "Great Migration" to the Willamette Valley of Oregon began.

Aktopraklık Höyük Açıkhava Müzesi ve Arkeoloji Okulu (TR)

Member of EXARC
No

The Aktopraklık Höyük Open-Air Museum and Archaeology School is run by the Istanbul University Department of Prehistory. The foundation of this cultural heritage management project is the archaeological evidence from the excavation conducted at the prehistoric mound of Aktopraklık.

The Aktopraklık Höyük Open-Air Museum and Archaeology School is run by the Istanbul University Department of Prehistory. The foundation of this cultural heritage management project is the archaeological evidence from the excavation conducted at the prehistoric mound of Aktopraklık...

Bent’s Old Ford (US)

Member of EXARC
No

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site features a reconstructed 1840s adobe fur trading post on the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail where traders, trappers, travelers, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes came together in peaceful terms for trade. Today, living historians recreate the sights, sounds, and smells of the past with guided tours, demonstrations and special events.

William and Charles Bent, along with Ceran St. Vrain, built the original fort on this site in 1833 to trade with plains Indians and trappers. The adobe fort quickly became the centre of the Bent, St.Vrain Company's expanding trade empire that included Fort St.Vrain to the north and Fort Adobe to the south, along with company stores in Mexico at Taos and Santa Fe. The primary trade was with the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians for buffalo robes.

Barrington Living History Farm (US)

Member of EXARC
No

Barrington Living History Farm is located within Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site, which is located 18 miles northeast of Brenham and seven miles southwest of Navasota.

Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site encompasses 290 acres and was created in 1916. Barrington Living History Farm is a recreated 1850s Brazos valley cotton plantation. The centrepiece of the farm is the 1844 home of Dr Anson Jones, last President of the Republic of Texas. The Anson Jones home is the original structure built in 1844 and was moved to Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site as part of the Texas Centennial Celebration in 1936. The outbuildings were recreated based on typical Texas architecture of the mid-19th century and information found in Dr.

Nysäter Vikingacenter (SE)

Member of EXARC
No

In 2009, the Värmlands Vikingacenter, a centre entirely devoted to the history of the Vikings, opened to visitors at Värmland, on the northern shore of lake Vänern, in southwest Sweden.

Extensive meadowland next to the river, which flows into the Harefjorden, reproduces a Viking Age environment where, during the summer months, demonstrations of handcraft techniques are performed and theme-based markets take place. A modern structure houses an exhibition that is well-known to enthusiasts: it consists mainly of scale reproductions of daily activities performed in a Viking port. These were previously displayed at the Jorvik Viking Center in York (England - UK), and acquired with the help of local associations.

Forteresse de Montbazon (FR)

Member of EXARC
No

A village brought to life at day and night, with introduction workshops and staged visits. The potter, the basket maker, the weaver, the dyer, the tailor, the calligrapher, the illuminator, the coin engraver, the candle maker, the blacksmith, the saddler, the stone carver, the herbalist, the shingler, the baker and the crossbowman will welcome you in their workshops.

Continual activities, with introduction workshops and staged visits (the donjon, the undergrounds pathways, the torture room and firing the ballistic engines). All year round, the castle opens its gates to the youngest and teaches them history through numerous workshops.

Little Woodham Living History Village (UK)

Member of EXARC
No

Within the parish of Rowner, surrounded by woodland, lies the 17th century village of Little Woodham. A visit here will allow you to step inside the pages of history books; to open the doors of real homes and immerse yourself in everyday life in a small village.

You may meet the seamstress embroidering elaborate decorations on clothing for the wealthy members of the parish, or she may simply be repairing her husband’s britches! You may find the weavers busily spinning wool or weaving beautiful cloths. There’s also the potter at his wheel throwing pots or firing up his kiln. You’ll often hear the chopping of wood at the sawyers, or the rhythmic banging of metal at the blacksmith’s forge, or you might just hear a mother telling tales of faeries to her children.

Keltenhof Mackenzell (DE)

Member of EXARC
No

In 1998, archaeologists discovered a Hallstatt settlement in the Mackzell suburb of Hünfeld in East Hessen. The settlement dated to 700-800 BC and was excavated in the years 2000-2001.

The excavated houses were very diverse in ways of construction but relatively small. Even the main building was under 10 metres. This was a farmer’s settlement with the occasional home-made pottery. The finds are exhibited at the Konrad-Zuse Museum in Hünfeld.

Duncarron Medieval Village (UK)

Member of EXARC
No

It started life as a drawing scribbled on a beermat. An image of a museum without glass display cabinets, without boundaries. A museum with fully interactive exhibits that would teach about Scotland’s past.

Fifteen years later that drawing is becoming a reality as Duncarron a fully fortified Medieval Village situated beside the Carron Valley Reservoir and the men sitting around the table that night have become a recognised charity, The Clanranald Trust for Scotland (The Trust).