From Priene to Berlin, from Berlin to Digital. Travelling remains and digital applications for objects’ biographies, phase one

The contribution presents a series of digital acquisitions made at the Altes Museum in Berlin. The subjects are five marble statues from the Aegean city of Priene. Many previous studies have concerned the terracotta sculptures found in the Greek houses of the ancient city, the ruins of which are still accessible to the general public when travelling to Turkey in the Söke district of Aydın Province. Although the site is a reminder of the architectural magnificence of Hellenistic Greece, most of the sculptures and minor artefacts are today out of their original context. Digital acquisition combined with digital tools can now reconstruct the places of the past and reconnect objects to their original locations. This research wants to collect the objects’ biographies and history for a future virtual re-presentation in the original context. Archives, digital tools, and 3D models can now reach a non-specialist audience and create storytelling structured on web-based technologies accessible from various mobile devices. With this intention, the digitised objects were contextualised within a virtual tour based on spherical panoramas linking the museum rooms to the 3D statuary models. Also, maps can help to contextualise objects from abroad, linking 3D data and heterogeneous documentation and making them accessible online to assist the visit to Priene. The present paper represents an early report about this documentation and Dissemination operation, starting from the findings exhibited at the Altes Museum and coming from Priene.