Soundscapes from the past of Athens and Xanthi for the modern-day visitor

The concept of soundscapes, which refers to the "sound environment" of a society, a combination of sound, space and people, when applied to cultural heritage, can lead to a deeper understanding of the historical context and daily life during different periods. Compared to visual restorations, the audio reconstruction of the past has not been researched or exploited to the same extent in the context of cultural tourism. The use of sound in audio tours applications is often limited to static audio descriptions of landscapes, monuments, historical figures, events, etc. Soundscapes, however, can provide further and different kinds of information, helping visitors to better understand how people of the past experienced their environment. Advances in technology and specifically in 3D audio provide the ability to harness the ephemeral nature of sounds, digitally manage them and present them to audiences in new, engaging ways. This announcement will present the ECHOES project and the related research on the formation and use of soundscapes for the reconstruction of daily life during the 19th - early 20th century in 2 places: in the historical center of Athens and in the old town of Xanthi. The topics discussed will be the current state of the art in the relevant field, the specifications drawn up and the research and technological approaches proposed to present, through 3D sound and panoramic sketch, to locals and visitors, a) famous and lesser known people or social groups that lived in these places, b) points of the natural and built environment that existed or still exist, and c) general important aspects of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century in these cities. In the context of the ECHOES project and thriough using archives, publications, photographs, works of art, sound libraries, etc., it is investigated whether recreated soundscapes (e.g. from 1810, 1870, 1899) can help the visitor to live a more meaningful cultural experience in the modern space and create a deeper connection with the past.