Presenting the invisible and unfathomable

Virtual museum and augmented reality of the Neolithic site in Bylany, Czech Republic

Abstract

The aim of the article is to demonstrate the possibility of presentation of prehistoric sites in locations where there is neither any preserved construction, nor any relic of the original landscape. Such sites usually meet with indifference both from the public and from institutions involved in preservation of historical monuments. This problem, however, does not relate only to the limited capacity to imagine features of which there is no visual evidence in the landscape. The problem consists also in the vast structural difference between the world of prehistoric societies and today’s reality. Bylany near Kutná Hora (Czech Republic), where one of the most important excavations of a Neolithic settlement area in Europe was undertaken, represents a model example of such a situation, no doubt typical for most prehistoric and early historic sites. The possibility of creating virtual and augmented reality proved to be a potential tool to grasp the invisible and to describe the disappeared proved to be. This concept represents a potentially powerful tool for digital heritage management.