"During the excavation works in 2001 for a hotel in the centre of Iceland's capital, the oldest proof of settlement in Reykjavik was found. The ruins of a longhouse and of a turf wall can now be visited "on site": The museum is situated in the basement of the new hotel; the longhouse's former main room is part of today's exhibition hall.
An interactive media installation presents the ruin, dated around 930 AD, the way it probably looked when occupied. The Multi–User installation resurrects the inhabitants as ghosts and shows them in their daily activities. The pater familias is welcoming a guest, servants take care of the livestock and the kitchen, the housewife is dyeing cloth, a child is playing. Museum visitors gain information by activating texts and images telling more on life in Iceland's Middle Ages. A spot light is also directed onto the relics found in the ruin. Touched by the visitor, they will show where they were located in the longhouse and explain their function. Additionally, the purpose of the building's different rooms is described."
(ART+COM)
