HERAKLION ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM – DIGITAL MUSEUM

The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is one of the oldest and most remarkable museums in Greece, and among the most important museums in Europe. It houses representative artefacts from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history, from the Neolithic era to Roman times. However, the Museum prides itself on its unique Minoan collection, which includes the masterpieces of Minoan art. The collection of Minoan antiquities, following the evolution of that civilisation from beginning to end, is the most important in the world, and the Museum is justly considered the museum of Minoan culture par excellence.

Due to its global recognition and high visitor numbers, its exhibits from every geographical region of Crete, covering every chronological period of antiquity, and its comprehensive presentation of the Minoan civilization, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum may justly be termed the metropolitan museum of Crete, a key space for the study and promotion of ancient Cretan culture.

The “Innovative Actions for the Digital Promotion and Outward-looking Policy of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum” project was implemented by the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in 2019-2022, in the framework of the Regional Operational Programme “Crete 2014-2020”, co-financed by the European Union (ERDF) and national resources. The aim was the creation of the Digital Museum, through a web portal and a set of applications intended to optimise the experience both of physical visitors to the Museum and of online users.

The project included the documentation, photographing and 3D scanning of selected Museum exhibits, as well as the digitisation of the relevant visual material from archaeological publications.

The following digital applications were also designed and implemented

• Interactive map of publicly accessible archaeological sites of Crete from which selected exhibits of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum originate;
• Timeline of Cretan Prehistory and History up to the Roman period, as well as a Timeline of the History of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum;
• Dictionary of Archaeological Terms;
• Educational / entertainment application;
• Online interactive virtual tour of selected galleries of the permanent exhibition of the Museum;
• Website for the presentation of the digitised archaeological material and digital applications;
• Virtual tour for Museum visitors and augmented reality presentations of 20 selected Museum exhibits;
• Supply and installation of equipment for the operation and continuous enrichment of the system.

Contribution

The Project

CONTRIBUTORS

GENERAL COORDINATION

Stella Mandalaki, Director of the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion

PROJECT SUPERVISORS

Deukalion Manidakis, Irene Nikolakopoulou, Michalis Papagiannakis.

ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTING

Maria Krasanaki-Chronaki, Marina Kallergi.

TEXTS

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTATION OF EXHIBITS

Evaggelia Sikla, Savvas Petridis, Georgia Flouda, Irene Nikolakopoulou, Kleanthis Sidiropoulos, Stella Mandalaki, Maria Kyrimi, Eirini Galli, Katerina Athanasaki, Dimitris Sphakianakis, Paraskevi Stamataki, Deukalion Manidakis, Kleio Tzanaki, Eleni Tziraki.

EDUCATIONAL APPLICATION

Kleio Tzanaki, Georgia Flouda.

TIMELINE OF CRETAN HISTORY AND PREHISTORY

Stella Mandalaki

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Eirini Galli

COMPILATION OF CHARTOGRAPHIC DATA

Katerina Athanasaki  

DICTIONARY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL TERMS

Irene Nikolakopoulou

SUPERVISION OF VIRTUAL TOUR APP AND AUGMENTED REALITY APP

Deukalion Manidakis

TEXT ADAPTATION FOR GUIDED TOUR APP

Irene Nikolakopoulou

SUPERVISION OF 3D DIGITIZATION OF EXHIBITS

Michalis Papagiannakis

PHOTOGRAPHS OF EXHIBITS

Ioannis Velegrakis (Uni Systems), Archaeological Museum of Heraklion Archive (Ioannis Patrikianos, Deukalion Manidakis, Giannis Papadakis-Ploumidis, Kleanthis Sidiropoulos).

TRANSLATIONS

Rosemary Tzanaki (English), Emmanouela Tzedaki (French).

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

 «UNI SYSTEMS M.A.E.»