Internet and History: Virtual exhibition of archaeological finds released on the website of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The website of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences released a virtual exhibition of archaeological finds "Witnesses of the Past: Art and Crafts in Archaeological Finds". Three-dimensional digital models, created in the Moscow "Remote Sensing and Spatial Data Analysis Laboratory", will allow scientists from any place in the world to study artefacts and conduct research without reviewing the original.

The main exhibits of the virtual museum are 3D digital models of archaeological finds collected by the institute's expeditions over the past three years. There are items from archaeological excavations in Moscow, Veliky Novgorod, Moscow Region, Tula, Taman Peninsula, Bryansk, Orel, Astrakhan Regions, Don, Old Ryazan, Abkhazia.

The virtual collection includes not only treasures of art but also common archaeological artefacts: fragments of ceramic urns, ancient bricks and tiles. Even so, these things are not of high artistic value, their scientific potential is unlimited.

All exhibits of the virtual exhibition are distributed by chronological order: from the Stone Age to the New Age. Now it comprises a lot of items from the Middle Ages and the New Age, which reflects the modern practices of fieldwork on monuments of different ages and the accessibility of finds. The electronic catalogue will be constantly improved. The sections of the Stone and Bronze Age will provide models of new exhibits.