Chalcolithic settlements in the Golan, now with Audio

Explore the Golan during the Chalocolithic period (4500-3300 BCE) with the help of audio interpretation! No less than 25 sites representing the Chalcolithic period (4500-3300 BCE) have been discovered in the central Golan since 1973, all of which were surveyed and excavated under the supervision of the late Claire Epstein (1911-2000). These sites all shared a distinct culture and social structure, as evidenced by the architecture, which includes identical unfortified villages with chains of houses built of rectangular stones, as well as the artifacts, which include worked basalt pillars with a basin that were most likely used in sacred ritual contexts. We invite you to sample this culture by visiting Rasm Harbush and Daliyyot.

More Pre-Pottery Neolithic Audio!

Beidha, located in southern Jordan just north of Petra, is one of the most significant Neolithic sites in western Asia--if not the world! Once home to Neolithic semi-settled peoples and eventual villagers who participated in the invention of sedentary agriculture, Beidha provides valuable insight into the origins of modern society. We invite you to travel back nearly 9,000 years in order to walk among its now silent buildings that once bustled with human activity, accompanied by audio site interpretation!

Zeiraqun

Zeiraqun is large Early Bronze city located on a high plateau overlooking the Wadi esh-Shallalah in northern Jordan. It covered an area approximately 300 by 400 meters and was surrounded by a large, 7 meter thick wall along its northern, western, and southern sides (the vertical wall of the wadi provided protection on its eastern side). The excavations focused on two areas. In the upper city, along the western wall, the excavators uncovered the main city gate, which gave entrance to a temple complex, and administrative center, and an industrial area. In the southwestern corner of the site, the excavators uncovered a postern gate and a residential area.

Zeiraqun is an important site because it is one of the largest Early Bronze cities in the southern Levant. The temple complex, with its adjacent adminstrative center, also has parallels with the Early Bronze temple complex at Megiddo.

New Audio Clips Posted for Pre-pottery Neolithic Sites in Jordan!

Come explore the fascinating Stone Age settlements at Basta and 'Ein Abu Nukhayla, located in southern Jordan, with the assistance of audio interpretation. Dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period (PPNB), ca. 8000-9600 years B.P. (ca. 6000-7600 yrs. BCE), these ancient stone dwellings witness to the daily lives of human beings in the earliest centuries following the invention of agriculture.

Stroll through Endangered Dolmen Fields, now with Audio!

Audio introduction is now available for the fascinating dolmen fields at al-Mureighat and Damiyeh in western Jordan. These ancient monuments to human culture have been standing for roughly 5,000 years, but today are being threatened with destruction by bulldozers from nearby quarrying operations. Help save the dolmens by calling attention to these irreplaceable world treasures and the fact that they remain vulnerable to local, modern expansion.

Umm Hadder

Umm Hadder is a small Hellenistic fortress located along the Wadi al-Kufrayn, just north of the Kufrayn dam in Jordan. The fortress is approximately 40 by 30 meters in size and consists of rows of rooms around a central courtyard, with towers in each of its corners. A large well is located in the middle of the open courtyard.

Umm Hadder is one of several fortresses and many settlements along the Wadi al-Kufrayn during the Iron through the Hellenistic periods. The Wadi al-Kufrayn was probably one of the main access routes from the Jordan valley to the Ammonite plain.

Say good bye to QuickTime

Users might notice a changed format in some of the virtual tours. When Apple released its latest operating systems, Snow Leopard, it signaled that QuickTime would no longer support QTVR (the format of the panoramic and spherical images, which Apple pioneered) in future versions. Thus, we are converting all the QuickTime movies to Flash format. The downside is that this conversion will take a little time. No hurry. QuickTime will continue to have legacy support for QTVR in the foreseeable future, so users will be able to use the project with no interruption. The upside is that Flash is a better interface for QTVR movies. Users will especially appreciate Flash's "fullscreen" option. After a sufficient number of sites have been converted to Flash, we will change the help screens to highlight the differences in flash.