VETTONIA PROJECT: A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR THE EDUCATIONAL DISSEMINATION OF THE IRON AGE

Abstract. The VETTONIA project aims to disseminate the rich heritage from the Iron Age of the western Iberian Peninsula and the archaeological investigations carried out on this topic in recent years. The project utilizes new technologies such as virtual tours, 3D models, and impressions to create interactive and stimulating ways to access the results of the most recent archaeological research. Using these resources, lectures and seminars are being given in various forums with diverse types of audiences to present the virtual tours and the rest of the dissemination initiatives. In addition, the project presents its different initiatives during the annual archaeological interventions developed in the oppidum of Ulaca (Solosancho, Ávila, Spain), with good reception by the attending public. The VETTONIA project represents a pioneering dissemination experience that takes advantage of the educational opportunities offered by new technologies. In the future, tools such as virtual tours to archaeological sites may prove essential in classroom teaching at different levels and could promote sustainable tourism in fragile natural environments such as those that constitute the major settlements of the Late Iron Age (ca. 400–50 BC).