Abstract
The Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni is a 6000-year-old Neolithic burial place whose microclimate is threatened by the presence of thousands of visitors all year round. Beyond digital preservation and accessibility, this project aims to provide a highly accessible experience to the virtual tourist or academic. This short paper reports on progress in faithful illumination and acoustics together with navigation aids supported by a real motion platform towards a mixed reality immersive experience. Lightweight variations such as a 360˚ VR film and a 360˚ still-based gaze-driven navigation mobile app further make such precious cultural heritage available to the wider public and serve as a basis for future enhancements towards a more immersive virtual cultural heritage experience.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Heritage Malta for provision of information on, and special access to, the Hypogeum site in Hal Saflieni, Paola, Malta.
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Barbara, J., Grech, J., Camilleri, J., McGurk, S., Theuma, C. (2021). Digitizing the Neolithic Hypogeum. In: Ioannides, M., Fink, E., Cantoni, L., Champion, E. (eds) Digital Heritage. Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation, and Protection. EuroMed 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12642. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73043-7_62
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73043-7_62
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