An immersive virtual reality training application for laboratory micro-excavation of funerary urns

Training in the laboratory micro-excavation of funerary urns poses significant challenges in archaeological education, as these artifacts are highly fragile and rare, severely restricting students’ opportunities for direct, hands-on practice. To address this limitation, the present work introduces a Virtual Reality (VR) learning tool, in line with a previous AR-based training application, designed to similarly reproduce funerary urn excavation processes under controlled laboratory conditions. The proposed VR application recreates archaeological materials and excavation workflows through detailed digital models, enabling students to perform excavation tasks in an immersive and risk-free environment. By working with virtual counterparts derived from real archaeological objects, learners can experience realistic excavation procedures without compromising the preservation of original artifacts, thereby supporting both skill acquisition and cultural heritage safeguarding. The development of the application took place within the framework of the European ArchaeoPills project, which aims to enhance practical training in archaeology at the university level through digital technologies. The VR application was evaluated during two editions of an international archaeology course, involving a total of 37 students, to assess its educational effectiveness and user experience. Results indicate that the VR application was associated with significant short-term learning gains, accompanied by a strong sense of presence, high user experience ratings, and low levels of simulator sickness. Learning performance was positively associated with presence and experiential engagement, and negatively associated with physical demand and nausea, highlighting the importance of balancing immersion and user comfort for effective learning. Overall, the proposed VR approach supports procedural learning through immersive and repeatable training, enabling realistic practice under controlled conditions for archaeological materials that are fragile or difficult to reproduce in laboratory settings.