Mare Nostrum is an interactive bilingual (French and Arabic) web-cartoon carried out between children in Arles and Alexandria, from 11 to 14 years old during the school year 2006-2007.
« This is the story of an archaeologist, in Southest France who discover a boat flotsam to date from Roman period, in the Rhone. He contacts his archaeologist colleague in Alexandria. Together, they imagine the trip of the boat in the first century AD throughout what was called « Mare Nostrum » : the Mediterranean sea… »
The web-cartoon is the fruit of many parallel workshops carried out in both sides of the Mediterranean sea by the Museum of Ancient Arles (MAPA), the Centre of Alexandrian Studies (CEAlex) and ZINC. Children from both sides participated in all the stages of development with the multimedia and graphic designers, coordinators or teachers : writing the dialogues, the story board, the drawings, the voice recording, image treatment and computer animation…
They met archaeologists, they strided along the town in the search of indication and exchanged information together through a forum.
You can discover the project here :
http://www.lafriche.org/marenostrum/
http://www.arles-antique.cg13.fr/mdaa_cg13/root/index.htm
It is also available as a CD, asking to the parters.
It can be used in different ways : inside the classroom (cultural project, patrimony project, mixed projects…) or at home around 3 big subjects : technics in archaeology (especially in sub-marine archaeology), history reconstitution, and the issues raised by patrimony professions.
You can download here the educational form of the project : in French or Arabic version.
The project was co-produced by ZINC/ECM, the MAPA, and CEAlex, thanks to the support to the regional young and sport unit of the PACA Region, le Conseil Général des Bouche-du-Rhône (culture and education units). The program ZINC/ECM and Animanet was supported by the PACA Region and the ministry of foreign affairs.
