The physical part of the project was completed at the end of July 2023 by the participating bodies of the partnership and more specifically, the company DATAVERS Ltd. Information Systems and Applications, the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, and lastly the Virtual Reality Laboratory of the Department of Cultural Technology and Communication of the University of the Aegean.
The Department of Byzantine Studies had from the beginning of the project undertaken the organization and coordination of all actions related to the participation of the Ephorate in the research, analysis, design and experimental development of the innovative digital platform that will provide digital services (a) to archaeologists-excavators and scholars, with onsite and online multimodal documentation of the archaeological excavation process to aid subsequent study, and the processing and increase of knowledge and information and (b) to visitors of archaeological sites and museums, presenting them in the form of a tour assisted by digital media the knowledge and experience captured during excavation.
With the contribution of the department and the excavation experience of its members, dedicated specifications were formulated for the development of the digital application for documentation of the excavation process for rescue and systematic excavations. Corresponding research material was collected from the excavation of the early Christian basilica of Agios Kirykos at the archaeological site of Delos, and the excavation at Palaiokastro on Mykonos. In these areas, we took care of the project staff and assignments to third parties for the implementation of 3D scans with scanning and/or drone with LiDAR recorders. A corresponding scan was carried out at the Apalirou Castle of Naxos, supplementing previous documentation of excavation work.
Gradually, during the development of the project and the design of the applications, the Department participated decisively in their testing, control and evaluation, in order to complete their design in the best possible way within the limit of the possibilities the research program offered.
