Economía campesina de San Pedro de Challacollo

Immediately p r e c e e d m g the Viking street is a reconstruction of the archaeological dig in which the actual timbers of the excavated

buildings can be seen, alongside the outline of the hearth that appeared earlier inside a reconstruction of a Viking house. The visitor then passes the finds registration hut and a reconstruction of the

laboratories where the finds are conserved and soil analysed to discover further information about what the Vikings ate and the plants they grew. This part of the reconstruction is designed to help visitors understand the processes by which archaeologists can unearth a site and through detailed research discover the information which enabled the

reconstruction of the Viking street.

Oakwell House, originally built in the loth century but substantially altered in the mid 17th century, takes a different approach. In the mid 1980s, having decided to undergo important restoration work, two sets of rare 17th century painted pannelling were revealed under layers of

Victorian paint and it was decided to try and recreate the Hall as a lived in home of the 1690s. However, the Hall had only a limited number of pieces of furniture of that period, and few soft furnishings, floor covering and crockery have survived. It was therefore decided that where original pieces were unavailable they would be reconstructed based on detailed historical research. The curators at Oakwell spent considerable time researching the most likely way in which each room would have been furnished using evidence from a 1611 inventory of the Hall and other inventories from surrounding Halls in the region, as well as evidence from contempory descriptions and from Dutch interior paintings( Galister and Davies 1989;.

The 1966 Display Policy document details how each room is to oe set out, justifying the decision iron nistcrical evidence, and discusses which itens will have to be reproductions. The result provides a iascinating insight into the domestic life of a 17th century household. Reproduction furniture has been deliberately left unaged to show that, contrary to popular perception, the furniture of this period was originally light in colour. The bare rooms presented in other historic houses of the period are dispelled with rush matting on the floors, cushions and bedding strewn on furniture and beds. Crockery, glassware, pewterware and china is placed m cupboards, on tables and in the kitchen. Personal items, clothing and domestic implements have ail been carefully reproduced from either surviving originals, or from documentary sources, so that the rooms are made to appear as if their occupants have just ieit. In a nearby barn an exhibition 'New for Old' explains in depth how the reconstruction was compiled, how it was researched ana how the actual reproductions were made and why such an interpretative approach was adopted. The exhibition concludes;

"While we made use of reproductions in both Red House and Oakwell Hall, we have gaps in our knowledge and understanding of

appropriate furnishings lor both houses. As research continues displays wili be upgraded bringing in original and reproduction items, but many questions about both the pasts of both houses must go unanswered".

The panel goes on to list those questions: were the family up to date and xashionable and what was the original colour scheme and arrangment of the rooms.

The national Fishing Heritage Centre O J . F . H . O uses reconstruction in its interpretation of a i950s trawler. The centre has used actual pieces

of a -crawler ana many period items alongside reconstructed pieces. All the reconstructions are based on old photographs and the Centre used retired trawierman to advise them on additional details. The result is a lull scale reconstruction that provides a complete visual interpretation of a fishing trip. Passing through an exhibition gallery, the visitor enters a Grimsby backstreet and continues to the docks and an board the trawler. On board the visitor visits the radio control room, the bridge, the Captain's Table, the deck, engine room, galley and fo'c* *Ale

(sleeping quarters) before returning ashore where the lumpers unload the catch and the trawlermen receive their wages before returning home and to the pub. Outside the pub stands a simple fishing smack surrounded by period shops. Throughout the reconstruction sound and movement play important roles. The visitor is.given the opportunity to experience the roll of the deck at sea as they watch the trawlermen hauling in their nets and packing the fish in ice. Temperature change is aiso used to great effect. An ice covered deck and cold blast.of air graphically illustrate conditions for trawlermen in Arctic waters. Descending down some steps the temperature is then abruptly raised as visitors enter the boiler room.

INTERPRETATIVE PANELS

The majority of the museums use interpretative panels to some extent in their representation of the past. Often the panels are used to explain the significance of a collection. For example at Kelham; files and file cutting tools provide the physical evidence for the Sheffield file making trade and a panel explains how files were made and the division of labour between men and women.

Virkswcrth Heritage Centre uses text panels almost exclusively to tell the story oi the town's deveicpmenx, the growth of its rail and road network, ixs local industries, customs, architectural herixage ana Xhe poxted biographies oi famous people linked to Virkswcrth. The panels are illustrated with appropriate contempcry drawings and maps, photographs and excerpts from documents which, xogether with the artefacts, act as supporting evidence for the main text.

Tolson also uses text panels extensively throughout its galleries.

However the panels have been designed to encapsulate the information in one short paragraph written in clear ianguage and in bold type; further dexails are then provided below. The iiuseum has fairly strict rules for its interpretative staff on the length of text allowed on the panels and, where possible, illustrations and photographs are used together with models and diaoramas to explain the significance of the artefact on display. A particularly successful use of interpretative paneis is made in their textile gallery 'From Sheep's back to Han's back' where

alongside early spinning frames and looms, are life sized photographs and illustrations of the machinery, showing better than any written text how the machines were actually operated.

THE USE OF SOUND

At Roche Abbey, the small visitor centre introduces visitors to the Abbey through a series of gilt edged interpretative panels which explain the history oi the abbey and the Cistercian order, monastic life, the layout of the abbey and its estates and the abbey's history after the Dissoultion. Together with a collection of small artefacts found on the

si t e .including pieces oi carved masan^ry, keys, a thimbie and some