Rediscovering and modernising the digital Old Minster of Winchester

Abstract The models and animations of the Old Minster, Winchester were remarkable in 1984–6 for producing the earliest animated tour of a virtual archaeological monument. Thought to be lost, thirty years on the original model files were rediscovered buried under layers of now unsupported code and recovered. This paper describes how the models were initially developed in the 1980s and then subsequently retrieved, restored and re-purposed in 2015. The original project is re-evaluated in the light of contemporary best practice. In modernising the digital Old Minster this virtual model has also been translated into a material one in the form of a 3D-print. This physical instantiation of the model challenges conventional understandings of, and blurs the boundary between, real and virtual heritage. We contend that left unaddressed this lack of clarity is set to radically disrupt current best practice in the discipline.