Peter F. Biehl
(Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg, Germany)
Multimedia technology and computer networks have inaugurated a new chapter in the way archaeology is taught on a university level. In the Bologna Process the modernization and modularisation of the curricula in the training in archaeology is acute. Multimedia applications in archaeological practice and theory (research and teaching) can help us to better communicate archaeology in the classroom (and to public) and to advance multivocality and interdisciplinarity. The paper discusses the conception, design, testing, improvement, evaluation and implementation of several modules in “archaeology and new media” at the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg.
One central module is excavation training which in particular is undergoing a revolution, with both practical field work and theoretical questions regarding what defines an archaeological side and landscape being affected. This paper presents a case study of a multimedia excavation that also serves as a training ground for young archaeologists. As such, it outlines how new media can be applied to excavating, analyzing, processing and, most importantly, interpreting the past. We have broken each of these processes into a teaching module. The paper discusses each module and explains each is important for the teaching and training of 21st century archaeologists.