The Bibracte pilot (led by Bibracte EPCC) is about visiting the archaeological site of the Celtic city of Bibracte (France) and being able to understand the process of excavations, the reconstructed aspect of buildings and the artefacts that were retrieved by archaeologists in different zones of the site, by following a map available on a mobile app.
Perched on Mont Beuvray in Burgundy, France, Bibracte was one of the largest Celtic towns of the Late Iron Age. It was mainly made up, until the mid-1st century BC, of wooden buildings, of which only limited archaeological traces are visible today, such as post holes, circulation levels, hearths, etc.: most of its history now lies hidden beneath today’s woodland.
Until now, interpretation at Bibracte has relied primarily on elements presented in the permanent exhibition, full-scale reconstructions and iconographic materials inside the museum, only occasionally complemented by explanatory panels installed at selected locations on the site: this prevents visitors from experiencing the real archaeological site along with informations that could enrich their experience and improve their understanding of the visit, and the main challenge of mediating with visitors to the Bibracte archaeological site is to enable them to see and understand the almost invisible remains and realities on the site. The EUreka3D-XR project offers a comprehensive and immersive response to this challenge, directly on the archaeological site by implementing the 3D digitised reconstructions of the sites. Find below the three objects (please allow a few seconds for the content to load):
Additionally, the tools created within the project (developed by project’s partner NTUA), AR Tour Builder and AR Tour Experience, enabled the creation of a geolocated tour accessible via a mobile app. Through augmented reality, visitors can visualise 3D models positioned in their archaeological context and enriched with complementary media directly on site. The visit developed in the context of the project allows them to discover ‘the hidden side of Bibracte’ by having access to missing elements, not visible in situ or not directly accessible to the senses and intellect.
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