MUSINT: a virtual habitat for relocated archaeological artifacts

The purpose of this contribution is to present an educational and interactive tool to be accessed on-line to share knowledge about Aegean archaeological collections held by various museums in Tuscany, Italy, and reconnect them to the geographical sites they come from, recovering also the historical, cultural and technical information to understand better the importance of the artifacts which suffer of limited visibility where they are now kept. The paper is tailored to show how the described structure and exploration modalities of MUSINT’s virtual museum meet these expectations, addressing one of the subject fields offered by the displayed contents: the Cretan collection in Florence, and particularly, within the collection, they clay finds from the Messara region, where the excavations of the renowned sites of Haghia Triada and Phaistos were carried out by the Italian Mission in Crete from the beginning of the 20th century. The documentation made available to the visitor in the system includes texts, adapted also for younger users, old and new photos, maps and plans of the sites, 3D models of the artifacts based on their metric survey, hypothetical reconstructions, drawings and cartoons, providing an incisive integration which recreates the historical context of each find and offers in-depth examination on demand.