Storying wild landscapes: Multimodal interactions with digital app-based heritage

ABSTRACT

Digital interpretation in wild and remote landscapes is hugely challenging, yet offers enormous potential for widening access to heritage in these settings. We provide a critical evaluation of the Walking with Romans app, developed by the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, to interpret two Scheduled Ancient Monuments: Y Pigwn Roman marching camp and Waun Ddu Fortlet (c. AD78). Analysis of digital interpretation has paid less attention to social and multimodal interactions, the spatial experience of digital technologies, and the challenges of achieving successful visits at remote sites. We explore how visitor talk responds to interpretive content while also accomplishing everyday social interactions, such as demonstrating togetherness, by analysing video footage from visits. We find that visitors do a considerable amount of shared work to interpret archaeological features, including the use of talk and other multimodal resources of embodied conduct and the app itself. Visitors demonstrate that terrain underfoot is an important resource for interpreting features and remembering earlier interpretive content. Heritage interpreters could consider how everyday sociability and subtle responses to landscape and terrain are woven into the experience of interpreting landscapes to enhance visitors’ experiences of outdoor heritage sites.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital heritage
• multimodal
• social interaction
• remote landscapes
• Roman archaeology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas Aneurin Smith

Ria Ann Dunkley is a Senior Lecturer in Geography, Sustainability and Environment at the School of Education, University of Glasgow. Her research focuses on sustainability transitions related to ecopedagogy and community-led environmental action, and relationships of nature-connectedness.

Ria Ann Dunkley

Suzanna Jones is an award winning interpretation and visitor experience professional, passionate about creating memorable visitor experiences, revealing hidden stories and connecting people to nature.

Suzanna Jones

Thomas Aneurin Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University. His research interests include: environmental, outdoor and heritage education; navigation, social interactions and technologies outdoors; and community conservation in East Africa.

Suzanna Jones is an award winning interpretation and visitor experience professional, passionate about creating memorable visitor experiences, revealing hidden stories and connecting people to nature.