Supporting conservation and restoration through digital media modeling and exploitation - the example of the Acropolis of Ancient Tiryns

Open laboratories (OpenLabs) in Cultural Heritage (CH) institutions constitute an effective practice for providing visibility of all the processes that take place “behind the scenes”, as well as for the promotion of documentation data, which the specialists of the domain collect and produce. However, a simple “presentation” of processes, or the absence of necessary further explanation and communication with the specialists, may be problematic in terms of what visitors eventually see and understand. The exploitation of digital media and their efficient management and interlinking to meaningful data and knowledge may contribute significantly to the dissemination of publicly available information and the support of OpenLabs. Considering all the above, the CAnTi (Conservation of Ancient Tiryns) research project aims to design and implement virtual and augmented reality interactive applications that will visualize the conservation and restoration (CnR) data of the Acropolis of Ancient Tiryns. The digital content of the applications will be modeled using Semantic Web (SW) technologies, providing cultural visitors with access to insight documentation data and media produced by CnR scientists. The applications will constitute a part of the OpenLab activities that will be carried out on the archaeological site, enhancing the visitors’ experience regarding the CnR of the site’s current practices and past.