Greek mythology vs Bronze Age Agean archaeology
Maria Emanuela ALBERTI | Anna Margherita JASINK
(University of Florence, SAGAS Department, Italy)
Keywords: Archaeology, Mythology, Augmented Reality, 3D reconstructions
Abstract:
Since its very beginning, the archaeology of Bronze Age Aegean has been variously and erroneously connected to the Greek mythology. The confusion is still present nowadays in publications for the wider public and for school pupils. The aim of the present project is to unravel the various elements clustering around the most famous mythological sagas, separating clearly ancient literary sources from Bronze Age remains. The pupils of primary school are the main intended audience, while other types of public are not excluded. The final aim is to raise in the audience a critical consciousness about the use of mythology and history. The prospective operational environment are then primary school classes, through workshops involving, along with pupils, some specialised operators and their teachers. A typical case study is the saga of the Atreides, conflating a long series of myths and the important remains of Late Bronze Age Mycenae. For archaeologists, it is presently clear that there is no point in seeking in one of the historical phases of the town the ‘town of Agamemnon’.
The chosen technical solution are various tales presented through multi-media graphics (hand-drawing, vector images, virtual reconstructions and others), 2D and 3D reconstructions. The main characters are two modern children who read ancient stories, visit Museums and archaeological sites. In their dreams they meet children of Minoan Crete or of Mycenaean Greece, who illustrate the actual situation in ancient times. The plurality of the adopted techniques allows to see in parallel and in combination the various levels of tale, the mythological sources/literature and the archaeological remains. A somehow similar experience made in primary schools (Montelupo Fiorentino, 2014-2017) through the Interactive Museum (MUSINT) was very successful.
Relevance conference / Relevance session:
An example of how new technologies can be used in primary schools to develop a critical approach to culture heritage, especially archaeology and mythology
Innovation:
Innovation is more on contents, i.e. a critical contrast between Aegean Archaeology and mythology, to clearly separate historical reconstruction and mythological narration
References:
- Jasink, A.M., Tucci, G., Bombardieri, L. (eds): MUSINT. Museo interattivo delle Collezioni egee e cipriote in Toscana. Ricerche ed esperienze di museologia Periploi 3. Firenze University Press, Firenze (2011).
- Jasink, A.M., Dionisio, G. (eds.): MUSINT 2. Nuove esperienze di ricerca e didattica nella museologia interattiva. Periploi 8. Firenze University Press, Firenze (2016).
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