The Ben Ross Homeplace Virtual Museum: The Ethics, Challenges, and Benefits in Presenting Archaeological Collections in Cyberspace

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Archaeology of Harriet Tubman's Birthplace", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

As a public agency who supports the study of the African diaspora along our transportation routes, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) engages heavily with descendant communities and public audiences. One initiative we use to stimulate interest in Maryland history and connect with the public is a virtual museum. MDOT’s Ben Ross Homeplace Virtual Museum uses broadcasting and participatory approaches by sharing 3D models of select artifacts to stimulate interaction from descendants and our virtual visitors. While an online virtual museum with 3D models offers an accessible multisensory educational opportunity for a geographically inaccessible site, it simultaneously removes the material culture from the context of its cultural landscape thereby creating interpretive and educational obstacles. This paper will examine the benefits, limitations, and ethical challenges of using digital tools such as 3D modeling with the Ben Ross Homeplace site as a case study.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025   •
• The Archaeology of Harriet Tubman's Birthplace

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow