“Scanning” the exhibits of the Museum of Byzantine Culture – New digital experience for visitors

On Stratou Avenue, shortly after noon, the bright sun in the otherwise frozen Thessaloniki illuminates the Museum of Byzantine Culture. A group of elementary school students has just passed the main entrance that leads to the courtyard area and amidst laughter, teasing and shouting they are trying to organize themselves to start their journey into the past, through an experience …cut and sewn to their measurements.

The visitor passes them and enters the reception area first. Along with the ticket he buys, he is informed about the new digital and interactive experience that the Museum now offers, at the moment he sees in front of him the codes that correspond to the free applications that he will download to his mobile phone, to offer him a different perspective on the guided tour.

At the same time, he is informed by the smiling employee that if he does not have a mobile phone or does not have the ability to download the applications, he can borrow – by leaving a personal document as a guarantee – mobile devices provided by the museum, on which the tour is available in Greek and ten other languages. Also, if he has a hearing problem, he has the option of getting another, special device for a guided tour in Greek sign language. Finally, if you are visually impaired, an audio tour application using certified mobile devices is available.

The visitor begins the journey through the ages, following the inner …road, with its winding upward course to end up with its completion at the level from which it started. In almost three and a half thousand sq.m. are presented through authentic exhibits – mainly from Thessaloniki and Macedonia, aspects of Byzantine and post-Byzantine culture, through individual themes. On display are thousands of archaeological objects, heirlooms and works of art from the tens of thousands included in its collections, which date from the 2nd to the 20th century. A.D.

The tour of the museum halls and the experience that comes to life

In the first three – out of a total of eleven, rooms of the permanent exhibition, you will see references to the early Christian or early Byzantine period (4th-7th centuries), from the founding of Constantinople by M. Constantine in 330 and the transfer to it from Rome the seat of the Roman Empire.

In the first hall, the architecture, decoration, liturgical vessels and objects of an early Christian temple are approached through the basic type of the wooden-roofed basilica. Of particular interest are the marble inlays, orthomarbling slabs and mosaics from the churches of Agios Dimitrios and Achiropoiitos, the inlaid art decorations made of pearl, the stained-glass windows, the frescoes, the architectural members (pectorals, capitals, capitals) and the liturgical vessels.

In the exhibition of the second room, centered on the triclinium, the reception area of ​​a wealthy house in Thessaloniki, themes are developed that highlight the role of the city as a fortified residential complex, with public and private life, professional activities, economic life, trade , the workshops, the residence and its equipment (ceramics and glassware), the activities of the home (weaving, cooking) the clothing and grooming items.

Finally, the third presents the typology of the tombs outside the walls of the cemeteries of Thessaloniki, the epitaphs, the objects that accompanied the deceased, the objects of funerary worship, and the extremely rare and unique set of burial paintings that wonderfully illustrate the process of transition from the late antique conception of the afterlife in a paradisiacal place of material prosperity and survivals from the ancient world in funerary customs and decoration to the final triumph of the Cross with the prevailing of the new religion and worldview of the final judgment and resurrection of the dead.

Some of these exhibits will come to life. Viewing them through the lens of the mobile phone erases the marks of the centuries that have passed over them and they appear in their original form. In other cases it shows the use they had in the past. For example, a marble pilaster suffix, turned into a well mouth, returns to the time when it was used as such, and the visitor sees in front of him through the app’s camera the ropes that raise and lower the water-filled vessels. Lowering the mobile phone, he sees vividly in front of him the marks left by the ropes, which managed to carve his marble body.

At the same time, the tour guide, who fits in the palm of the visitor’s hand, never gets tired of giving detailed information either about the room he is in or about its individual sections. It is enough to scan the QRCode that is in the area or on the exhibit with the special marking or to type in the mobile device the number written there.

In addition to the texts written throughout the previous period, recorded and heard during the visitor’s tour, many of the exhibits were photographed, videotaped, and 3D models were developed on them. These exhibits, which the visitor sees live, he also has the possibility to explore even more through the application on his mobile phone, zooming in on the desired point, rotating the object, lighting it from different angles and reading special details about some of its points . In fact, he will not just keep all this information in his mind, nor will he leave it when he leaves, since the application will remain on his mobile phone and he will be able to explore it from home. The same experience can be experienced by those who do not have a smart phone or tablet during their visit, since they can use the tablets installed in the last room.

The visitor will have similar experiences in the following rooms, where he will get to know, through genealogical trees, coins, monetary treasures and seals, the dynasties of Byzantium from the years of Heraklion (610-641) to the Fall of Constantinople (1453) as well as the defense system of the Byzantine Empire, the organization of the city-castle and the daily life and production inside and outside it. The next room houses representative works of art of the late Byzantine period, such as frescoes, marble reliefs, general items of religious and daily use, and next are the rooms that house rare collections, with 18th and 19th century engravings, wooden and copper dies, objects dating from prehistoric times to the 19th century, mainly with Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons, but also examples of church gold embroidery from the 17th century, liturgical books and examples of church silversmithing.

The unique interactive, digital experience at the Museum of Byzantine Culture is the result of the project “The digital Museum of Byzantine Culture: from image to experience. Actions to upgrade the interaction and the experience of visiting the Museum of Byzantine Culture”, with OPS Code 5029874, Operational Program “Central Macedonia 2014-2020”, implemented by carrying out actions that meet the modern needs of the Museum itself and its global audience.

RES-EMP

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