Avebury virtual: exporación del sentido de lugar en una simulación arqueológica virtual

[EN] This paper describes and discusses creating and evaluating a virtual reality simulation of Avebury Stone Circle and Henge complex as it might have appeared and sounded circa 2300 BCE. Avebury is a Neolithic heritage site in the UK which is part of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites UNESCO World Heritage Site. The overall aim of the project was to better understand the sense of place and presence that visitors can experience in virtual simulations of heritage sites. We investigated how virtual spaces might become experienced as places by visitors through their exploration, active participation, sensory stimulation and communication with other visitors in the simulation. More than 1200 members of the public experienced the simulation, both at Avebury itself and at three public exhibitions. The specific objectives of the project were to explore if and how the believability of a simulation was associated with feeling a sense of place in the virtual landscape, and if some personal characteristics, viz. age, disability, sex, immersive tendency, familiarity with IT and frequency of playing computer games, were associated with levels of enjoyment in, and learning from, the simulation. We analysed the data from a detailed questionnaire completed by 388 of the 702 visitors to Avebury from June to September 2018 who experienced the simulation, supported by observational data from all participants at all events. We found that believability was associated with a sense of place in the simulation, i.e. that the more believable the simulation appeared, the greater the sense of place experienced by the participants. We also found that personal characteristics had very little influence upon visitor reactions to the simulation, suggesting that such simulations might have wide appeal for heritage and museum visitors, regardless of age, gender or familiarity with technology.[ES] Este artículo describe y analiza la creación y evaluación de una simulación de realidad virtual del círculo de piedra de Avebury y el complejo de Henge, ya que podría haber aparecido y sonado alrededor del año 2300 a. C. Avebury es un sitio neolítico patrimonial en el Reino Unido que forma parte de Stonehenge, Avebury y sitios asociados Patrimonio de la Humanidad de la UNESCO. El objetivo general del proyecto era comprender mejor la sensación de lugar y presencia que los visitantes pueden experimentar en simulaciones virtuales de sitios patrimoniales. Investigamos cómo los visitantes pueden experimentar los espacios virtuales como lugares a través de su exploración, participación activa, estimulación sensorial y comunicación con otros visitantes en la simulación. Más de 1200 miembros del público experimentaron la simulación, tanto en Avebury como en tres exhibiciones públicas. Los objetivos específicos del proyecto eran explorar si la credibilidad de una simulación se asociaba con la sensación de lugar en el paisaje virtual, y si algunas características personales, a saber, la edad, la discapacidad, el sexo, la tendencia inmersiva, la familiaridad con la informática y la frecuencia de los juegos de computadora se asociaron con niveles de disfrute y aprendizaje de la simulación. Analizamos los datos de un cuestionario detallado completado por 388 de los 702 visitantes a Avebury de junio a septiembre de 2018 que experimentaron la simulación, respaldados por datos de observación de todos los participantes en todos los eventos. Descubrimos que la credibilidad estaba asociada con un sentido de lugar en la simulación, es decir, cuanto más creíble era la simulación, mayor era la sensación de lugar experimentada por los participantes. También descubrimos que las características personales tenían muy poca influencia sobre las reacciones de los visitantes a la simulación, lo que sugiere que tales simulaciones podrían tener un gran atractivo para los visitantes del patrimonio y del museo, independientemente de su edad, género o familiaridad con la tecnología.This research was supported by funding from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, under grant number AH/R009260/1.Falconer, L.; Burden, D.; Cleal, R.; Hoyte, R.; Phelps, P.; Slawson, N.; Snashall, N.... (2020). Virtual Avebury: exploring sense of place in a virtual archaeology simulation. 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