Stone circle visitors can learn with new games

Dr Charlie Hargood and Dr Ros Cleal want to see visitors get more from the site

More than 20 games for smartphones have been developed to give visitors to the Avebury world heritage site more to explore.

The free apps launched have options for children and adults, incorporating archaeology, historical stories, art and fun characters, such as Hunter Jim and Professor Stone.

The National Trust, University of Southampton and Bournemouth University worked together using funding from a European research project called LoGaCulture, which aims to see how technology can make heritage even more engaging.

Dr Ros Cleal, National Trust Property Curator at Avebury, said: "We want our visitors to derive as much as they possibly can from visits to Avebury."

The games are varied - from cute characters for children, to learning for adults and being artistic

Designers were given the chance to look at the site and come up with fresh perspectives for the apps.

Dr Cleal added: "It's been such an interesting experience to see how the designers have approached Avebury and brought novel ways of exploring and engaging with the site."

People can freely walk among the stones at the site and it is hoped the games will help visitors to interpret and enjoy it

Time travel, sheep, nature and investigations with animal characters are in the mix, with many of the apps following a users location round the stones to engage them at the right point.

Dr Charlie Hargood, associate professor in games technology at Bournemouth University, said the games will help visitors learn.

"We have the Avebury research challenge which will teach you about the history of the site," he said.

"We also have the stone truth where you work with two Victorian scholars in order to author a new book on Avebury where they talk through various theories in historical science on the Avebury site."

Many of the apps track a visitors location round the stones to they can learn and engage at the right points

Dr Cleal said Henge Hunts - with Hunter Jim - reveals something many do not know: "One of the things I love about the Avebury landscape is that it was once roamed in the neolithic by giant wild cattle and bears and wolves.

"Most people don't know that and actually that games tells you about that."

Building miniature versions of ancient sites is also possible, such as in Ages of Avebury, in which there is a search for missing stones which can then be found and raised.

The games launched on 25 July, with boards up in the barn on the Avebury site for people to see and scan QR codes.