Archaeological Open Air Museums as Time Travel Centres

Abstract

Experiencing the past in the open air has never been more popular than at present. Not only have many archaeological sites been transformed into tourist destinations, "fake" prehistoric, Roman or medieval environments have been developed and are frequently visited by both tourists and school children. If in the past these archaeological open air museums referred to experimental archaeology as a touchstone, now these heritage centres are profiling themselves less with science and more with living history, experiencing and time travel. In this, archaeological open air museums are a successful response to the emerging Experience Society. They use very basic techniques which are as old as the first archaeology and cannot be seen separately from archaeological knowledge and original artefacts. If they can combine the old techniques with modern technology, they will even be more successful.