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Welcome to Somersettimeline where the rich culture and historical diversity of Somerset is now available at the touch of a button, thanks to an ambitious scheme to put the county’s heritage on the web, including the Monmouth Rebellion and history of Glastonbury. In a project spearheaded by Somerset County Museums Service, and funded by the New Opportunities Fund, there now exists an interactive and searchable digital archive system for users of all ages. The site allows themes to be browsed using buttons, or by time bar (at the top of the screen). Objects are dynamically linked to the themes so that they appear at the bottom of the screen. More advanced users may like to try the map interface where objects are linked to hotspots so that at a glance the viewer can locate an artifact by zooming in on maps both modern and old. The Somerset Time Line scheme will allow young and old alike to access a wealth of content, such as, movies, ancient documents, maps, paintings, oral histories and items from exhibitions, so they can learn more about the county’s fascinating history. With the help of new technology, visitors to the web site will be able to carry out virtual tours of places of interest, as if they were really there and zoom in and out of digital objects inspecting them much closer than they would be able to even if they visited the museum. This is only possible by the digitisation of real objects into virtual ones by the use of extremely high-resolution cameras and scanners allowing great detail to be viewed on the web site, which will utilise Geographic Information System GIS software in a new and fun way. This process began in January last year and it is intended that over 5000 digital objects will be on line. The website will also allow visitors to take a ’virtual tour’, through collections from the County Museums Service, Blake Museum, Glastonbury Abbey, and Somerset Record Office as well as visit places of interest such as Glastonbury Abbey, the Peat Moors Visitor Centre at Shapwick, and Somerset Rural Life Museum. And there will also be maps, images, and objects as well as interactive themed multi-media journeys to ensure your visit is an engaging and fun voyage of discovery. Somerset Time Line has brought together historical, archaeological and architectural treasures, which are normally distributed across the county, onto a single accessible website to help visitors learn more about the rich culture of the county. Some of the County’s leading experts have helped to create digital collections and text to bring the site to life. The website will focus initially on two main themes: the Monmouth Rebellion, which resulted in the last full-scale battle fought on English soil; Historical Glastonbury, a fascinating town of national and international interest. Somerset County Council (lead)
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