In April 2023, members of the Virtual Reality Oracle team visited the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina and the ancient site of Dodona in Epirus, NW Greece.

The plan had always been to visit these important sites at the start of the project, but the Covid-19 pandemic prevented this. Undeterred, the team worked with archaeologists and scientists and invited them to the online research workshop back in autumn 2020.

It was particularly meaningful, then, to meet these colleagues in-person on this trip. We broke out the headsets and shared the experience of visiting Zeus’ oracle at Dodona in virtual reality. The feedback was terrific! Not only did they confirm that the Virtual Reality Oracle was an accurate representation of the site, but also many were particularly moved by being able to experience the oracular ritual—and they all noted the effectiveness of the ambience created.

Following the presentation at the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina, the project team made a pilgrimage to Dodona itself. As the mist rose over the mountains around the site, we were blessed with an atmospheric view of a landscape that was strangely familiar. Having visited the site many times in our virtual reality simulation, we felt we already knew it.