Looking back at the ARCHON Winter School 2020
On 20-22 February 2020, the Archon Winter School Sharing Practices: Archaeological 3D Visualisation in the Netherlandswas hosted by the RCE in Amersfoort and University of Amsterdam. This three-day event consisted of workshops, lectures by national and international researchers and practitioners, showcases of projects and equipment, opportunities for socializing and networking, and a roundtable discussion on the future of 3D visualisation practices in archaeology. An important aim of the Winter School was to establish a community of practice of archaeological visualizers across different career stages and the academic and commercial sectors.
The Winter School brought together students, (early career) researchers, and practitioners to exchange their knowledge and experience. With a total of 73 participants, the event managed to strike a balance between offering a variety of expertise and fostering close interaction between all participants. Speakers travelled from at least 6 countries to present at the Winter School, and students and practitioners joined from across the Netherlands as well as Germany, Belgium, the UK, and Russia.
During the first day of the Winter School, workshops were organized on a mix of tools and methods, including those that are currently not well known in the Netherlands: 3DHOP, the Extended Matrix, data visualisation in Blender, and 3D printing. The symposium on the second day included a good balance of lectures by students and (early career) researchers, and practitioners and senior researchers. Thought provoking keynote lectures were given by Dr. Paul Reilly and Prof. dr. Sarah Kenderdine. During the breaks, live demonstrations were given of a 3D model of the medieval neighbourhood Wijck in Maastricht developed by Tijdlab, and of the 3D Knowledge Hub, presented by Prof. dr. Jan PaulCrielaard and Dr. Maurice de Kleijn. On the final day, during the roundtable discussion, invited participants discussed the current challenges faced when visualizing archaeological and heritage research with 3D technology, and future directions for the field.
The ARCHON Winter School was organized by Loes Opgenhaffen(University of Amsterdam), Martina Revello Lami(Leiden University), and Hayley Mickleburgh(Linnaeus University, Sweden), and co-sponsored by the Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture (University of Amsterdam), the Department of Archaeological Sciences (Leiden University), the Amsterdam University Fund, the Tracing the Potter’s Wheel project, and the 4D Research Lab (University of Amsterdam).
More information on Sharing Practices: Archaeological 3D Visualisation in the Netherlands, including the full program, workshop descriptions, and news updates on the publication of the proceedings can be found here. If you have questions about the Winter School, don’t hesitate to contact one of the organizers.
