Labyrinth: Knossos, myth and reality. Staging an archaeological exhibition in a digital era

Book section : Chapter

This chapter provides a case study of a recent archaeological exhibition in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford in 2023. Labyrinth: Knossos, Myth and Reality focussed on the site of Knossos on Crete and its related myth of the Labyrinth. It included over 200 archaeological objects and a variety of other media, including a video game experience from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, 3D prints and a digital art installation. Supporting the narrative were other digital media, delivered on projectors in the exhibition, on an audio guide and directly to visitors’ smartphones. Some visitors engaged with the exhibition via social media or completed a post-visit survey online. Other visitors did not come to the museum at all but engaged with exhibition content available on the internet. In many ways Labyrinth was a typical postdigital archaeological exhibition of the twenty-first century. Drawing on visitor evaluation data, this chapter will explore how and whether its digital elements affected visitor engagement with the exhibition and the archaeological objects included within it.

Authors: Shapland, A; McDowall, F

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Host title: Oxford Handbook for Digital Classical Studies
• Language: English
• Keywords: exhibition; archaeology; Labyrinth; Knossos; Assassin’s Creed Odyssey; 3D printing; postdigital
• Subtype: Chapter