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.

Murayghat

Murayghat, in the hills overlooking the Dead Sea, is an Early Bronze cult center. On small hill are numerous menhirs – standing stones – that characterized religious practices in the Levant for millennia. Many of the stones are arranged in rows, circles, and rectangles, and vary in size up to nearly 2 meters in height. Across the dry wadi on a larger hill facing the cult center is a large dolmen field, with many of the dolmens oriented toward the cult center. Unfortunately, many of the dolmens on the surrounding hills are being threatened by the nearby stone quarry.

Come and visit these megalithic structures of the Bronze Age.

Gamla

Gamla has been called the northern Masada. It was a small Judean village made famous by its “favorite son” Josephus, who led the resistance against the Roman legions, only to surrender to them and serve Vespasian. In addition to its role in the first Judean revolt, Gamla is also important as the location of an early synagogue.

Although included in the project for several years, Gamla was completely re-photographed during the 2009 season. It is well worth the visit.

Jericho

Jericho is often referred to as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The area in and around the modern city of Jericho is the home to several important archaeological sites, and none more significant than Tell es-Sultan, the site of “biblical” Jericho. At Tell es-Sultan, continuous settlement can be traced from the Neolithic period into the Late Bronze Age, approximately 6000 years. Subject to three large-scale excavations, Jericho has revealed much about ancient human cultures. Unfortunately, few finds from these excavations remain visible on the site.

Nevertheless, on a tour of ancient Jericho, one may see an impressive round stone tower from the earliest Neolithic period, the remains of an Early Bronze city wall, and some buildings of the Early and Middle Bronze period.

Chorazin

Chorazin is a Byzantine and later village in the hills north of the Sea of Galilee. In the center of the village are a well preserved synagogue and several large courtyard buildings.

Chorazin was first photographed in 2003, but has recently been updated with many more new photographs. Stop by and take a look at the site.

Damiyah

The Damiyah dolmen field is the largest such field in Jordan. Over 300 dolmens have been counted in the field which stretches along the eastern foothills in the Jordan valley. These dolmen are functioned as tombs 5000 years ago, during the Early Bronze I period. Unfortunately, many of the dolmens are being destroyed each year by the Travco company that is quarrying the valuable travertine stone in the field.

Stop by and see these endangered archaeological artifacts.

Mar Elias

Mar Elias has been updated with new photographs from the 2009 season. Most notably, VR spots for inside the baptistry have been added to the project.

al-Mukhayyat

Khirbet al-Mukhayyat is the location of ancient Nebo, famous for its view of the Jordan Valley and the death of Moses. Because of its association with the death of Moses, the site became an prominent pilgrim site during the Byzantine period. In the town of Nebo itself, largely unexcavated, four Byzantine period churches have been discovered, three of which are presented in the Virtual World Project. Unfortunately, the elaborate mosaics that decorated each of the churches have been removed and are thus no longer visible, but the churches themselves are worth the visit. Come and take a look.

Kursi

Kursi, a monastery with a bath, church, and chapel on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, has been updated with new photographs from the 2009 season.

Rosh Zayit

Rosh Zayit, and early Iron Age fort and settlement, has been updated with new photographs from the 2009 season.

Herodium

Herodium has been updated with new photos from the 2009 season. Especially noteworthy is the addition of Herod the Great's tomb, which is located midway down the mountain, beside the entrance stairway.

Tiberias

Tiberias has recently been updated by adding photos of the city's southern gate. The southern gate was excavated in 1973-1974, but was subsequently covered over to preserve it. Recently, the gate has been uncovered as part of the city's attempt to highlight its archaeological heritage.

If you have not yet visited Tiberias, it is well worth the trip. Now, with the addition of the southern gate, it is a must see.

Vered Yericho

Vered Yericho is a Judean fort that existed for a few decades before the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians. Little is known about the Iron Age settlement of the Jericho area other than this small fort (an unexcavated Iron Age site is located 3 kilometers to the north).

Stop by and explore the fort.

Ha-Ro‘a

Ha-Ro‘a is just down the road from Haluqim (on which, see the previous post). Like Haluqim, this site has a large Negev-type “fortress” and a pillared house (5 room rather than 4 room) dating to the early Iron Age, possibly the tenth century BCE. The close proximity of these two contemporaneous “fortresses” is an indication, one among many, that they are not in fact fortresses. They are instead an early type of “Israelite” settlement.

Visit Ha-Ro‘a and compare it with Haluqim.

Haluqim

Haluqim, located in the central Negev, is a good example of an early Iron Age settlement with a so-called "Negev fortress." Two other houses and a Roman watch tower are also found at the site.

Haluqim was originally photographed in 2006 and went online shortly thereafter. The day on which it was photographed, however, was heavily overcast - a rare day in Israel. The site was thus re-photographed during the recent season in 2009 - on a beautiful sunny day. Moreover, many more spots at the site were photographed.

So, stop by and take a look at the new presentation of Haluqim.

Izbet Sartah

Located at the western edge of the hill country, the settlement at Izbet Sartah experienced the clash of Israelite and Philistine cultures. With material culture similar to the hill country sites, Izbet Sartah attests to the fluctuations of the early Israelite settlement.

Izbet Sartah give evidence of three short-lived settlements from the twelfth to the tenth century BCE. Stratum II, which includes a large central four-room house and smaller four-room houses on the periphery, attests to the beginnings of stratification of wealth with an uneven distribution of silos.

Come and explore this important site for understanding the Israelite settlement.

Nimrod Fortress

New spots at Nimrod Fortress was photographed during the 2009 season. Theses photos have now been added to the Virtual World Project’s presentation of the site. Especially noteworthy are new photos of the the eastern Towers 15 and 16, which were not previously photographed.

Ashkelon

At 60 hectares, Ashkelon is one of the largest archaeological sites in Israel. It certainly was certainly inhabited for a long period of time: 6000 years, from the Chalcolithic to the Mameluke period.

Since 1985 Lawrence Stager of Harvard University has excavated the site for the Leon Levy Expedition. He has uncovered many significant remains and aspects of life at Ashkelon from the Middle Bronze through the Byzantine periods. Although many of the results of the excavations are no long visible, a Middle Bronze IIA gate – the earliest extant arched/barrel vaulted gate in the world – is well preserved. Also at the site are the remains of a Crusader rampart and a Byzantine church.

Tel Kabri

In the early 1990s, the late Aharon Kempinski uncovered a monumental Middle Bronze palace with Aegean-style frescoes on the large mound of Tel Kabri. Renewed excavations under the direction of A. Yasur-Landau and Eric H. Cline are re-examining the palace as a way of exploring the Middle Bronze polity at Tel Kabri. Although the frescoes and the painted plastered floors are not visible at the site (they are protected with a sand and geo-textile covering), the plan and monumental character of the palace is evident.

Stop by and explore the palace for yourself.

Hajr al-Mansub

Hajr al-Mansub is one of the most impressive menhirs (standing stones) in Jordan, located . Standing approximately 2.5 meters tall, this isolated menhir is associated with the Early Bronze ceremonial center and dolmen field at Murayghat, 1 kilometer to the west (the latter site has been photographed and will eventually be presented in the Virtual World Project too). Unfortunately, this menhir and the many monuments at Murayghat are in danger due to the expanding quarry nearby.

Stop by the Virtual World Project and marvel at this monument.

Ain Abu Nukhayla

Ain Abu Nukhayla is a pre-pottery Neolithic B site in the Wadi Ramm. The small agricultural village consists of small, irregular, circular semi-subterranean huts, lined with undressed stones.

Ain Abu Nikhayla provides a good example of circular hut clusters that characterize the earlier parts of the PPNB period, which in many sites give way to rectangular houses in the latter part of the period (such as Beidha). Stop by and explore them.

Rasm Harbush

Rasm Harbush is a Chalcolithic settlement in the Golan made up of a series of row houses. On the eastern wall of the isolated House U, a dolmen was built after the settlement was no longer inhabited. Photographs of the dolmen have now been added to the Virtual World Project’s presentation of the site.

Khirbet Qeiyafa

Khirbet Qeiyafa is famous for an early Hebrew inscription in the so-called "proto-Canaanite" script that was found in an early tenth century gate. But the archaeological remains are significant in their own right. Although only excavated for two seasons, Khirbet Qeiyafa has revealed a well-preserved early Iron IIA four-chamber gate with a casemate wall (700 meters long around the city) and two buildings (perhaps, dwellings) adjacent to the gate. The gate and wall are constructed from mammoth stones. In short, the fortified city with monumental gate and wall would be the earliest attestation of a centralized state for ancient Israel.

Come and visit this newly added important site in the Virtual World Project.

2009 Season

The VWP team (Ron Simkins, Nicolae Roddy, and Alexandra Untu) just returned from its 2009 photography season in Jordan and Israel. Twenty seven new archaeological sites were photographed in Jordan and twelve new archaeological sites were photographed in Israel. In addition, new photographs were taken at nineteen previously photographed sites in Israel.

These newly photographed sites will soon be incorporated into the project; check with this blog for regular updates.

Emmaus

Revered as the site on the road to where the resurrected Jesus appeared to two of his disciples, Emmaus is the site of a Templar church built on top of a large Byzantine church. Earlier remains of a Roman villa, Roman tombs, and a well preserved Roman bath are also found on the site.

The presentation of the site has been updated on the Virtual World Project, and you are invited to stop by and take a tour.

Qasr al-Hallabat

Qasr Hallabat began as a Castellum fortifying the border of the Limes Arabicus during the Late Roman period. Located approximately 12 kilometers from the Via Nova Trajana, the fort was probably associated with a large reservoir and several houses to form an agricultural village. The fort was rebuilt and expanded several times, ending up as a Quadriburgium in the Byzantine period. During the Umayyad period, when the military function of the building was no longer needed, the fortress was transformed into a desert residential palace and decorated with mosaics, mural paintings, and stucco panels. A mosque was built adjacent to the fortress and a bath was built nearby at Hammam al-Sarah.

When you travel to the desert, stop by and explore this wonderful site.

Tell Jawa (South)

The Ammonites are known primarily from the biblical text, and little information is found here. Archaeology is beginning to change the situation. Tell Jawa is one of a few excavated sites with extensive Ammonite remains (see also the nearby site of Tell Umayri). The site preserves a gate building, a casemate wall, and several houses, which differ from contemporary Israelite houses. The site is not well known and has not been preserved for visitors. Nevertheless, the remains are in relatively good shape and will give the visitor a good impression of an Ammonite village.

Stop by and explore this little known site.

Audio interpretation available for Nimrod Fortress

We invite you now to take the audio tour of Nimrod Fortress, the largest and best preserved castle anywhere in Israel and the Syro-Palestinian region. Better known in medieval chronicles as Qal‘at as-Subayba, this majestic fortress sits perched on a high ridge in the foothills below Mt. Hermon overlooking the Hula Valley and the road to Damacus. This site will be of special interest to researchers of the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods.

Hammam as-Sarah

This is the site of an isolated Umayyad bath complex similar to the complex at ‘Amra in Jordan. The complex was in a good state of preservation until the 1950s, when its blocks were pilfered for nearby constructions. Today, only the core of the bath remains, partially restored by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

Al-Fedein

A sixth century Syrian manuscript describes al-Fedein as the southern most monophysite monastery in Syria, but the excavations have revealed much more. The Byzantine monastery is built within the cyclopean walls of an earlier Aramean fortress. Next to the fortress is a Umayyad palace with a bath and mosque. Further east is an Abbasid khan that served pilgrims on the Hajj to Mecca.

Come explore this interesting site hidden away in the middle of the modern city of Mafraq, Jordan.

Khirbet el-Minya

Located on the Ginnosaur plain along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Khirbet el-Minya is the ruin of a Umayyad palace wrapped in mystery. Its builder and history are largely unknown. Apparently, the palace was used for a short time during the Umayyad period and then again in the Mameluke period (to which some of the remains can be dated).

Khirbat al-Mafjar

Khirbat al-Mafjar has recently been updated.

Khirbat al-Mafjar is an elaborate palace that has traditionally be associated with the caliph Hisham’s palace, but more likely was built by his nephew el-Walid. The only part of the palace that was completed, interrupted due to el-Walid’s assassination, is the bath, with a large pool that served as the frigidarium. An unfinished mosque is also associated with the palace.

Tulul Abu al-Alayiq

Along the Wadi Qelt in Jericho, this site is where the Hasmonian kings and Herod the Great built their winter palaces to escape the cool, damp winters in Jerusalem. Beginning with John Hyrcanus I (or perhaps with his father Simeon), the Hasmonean kings established a royal estate, growing and processing dates and balsam. A large palace, built through seven stages was built at the southern end of the estate. Adjacent to the palace is perhaps the earliest surviving synagogue.

Herod the Great choose the same area for his three palaces. The first palace was built to the south of the Wadi Qelt and is not included in the virtual tour of the site. The second palace was built near the Hasmonean palace and incorporated some of its remains into it. The third palace was Herod's most ambitious and it bridges the Wadi Qelt. Unfortunately, most of the southern extension of the palace is not longer visible.

Hatzeva and Mar Elias

Two sites in the Virtual World Project have recently been updated. Mar Elias is large, five-aisle church and monastery in Jordan near the traditional home town of the prophet Elijah. 

Hatzeva is a series of fortresses in the Arabah, south of the Dead Sea. Many new photos were added to this site.

Kallirrhoë

Kallirrhoë is located at the hot springs of ‘Ain ez-Zara on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built a palace along the shore and visited the site just before his death. A smaller Byzantine villa was built over the ruins of Herod’s palace, and the site appears on the mosaic Madaba map. Although poorly preserved, enough of the foundations remain to give the visitor a clear representation of the plan of the place. 

Nitl

Nitl is the home of the ecclesiastical complex of Saint Serguis, a double church and chapel belonging to the Banu Ghassan, Arab foederati (mercenaries) of the Byzantine empire. The town is located a short distance from Madaba in central Jordan and provides new information for understanding the Banu Ghassan.

Qastal

Built along the pilgrimage road from Damascus to Mecca, this Umayyad palace has not fared so well over the years. In fact, a large modern house was built over the ruins of the northeastern quarter of the palace. But recently, the Department of Antiquities has cleaned up the site and glimpses of its once grand appearance are now possible.

Come and visit the site, and imagine the grandeur of previous era.

Ain es-Sil

Once thought to be a Roman period fort, this so-called “desert castle” is a Umayyad period farmstead. It consists of a main building, with several of the rooms devoted to agricultural production, a bath suite, and little-understood subsidiary buildings.

Come take a visit to this small site in eastern Jordan.

Hayyam al-Mushref

Hayyam al-Mushref is a largely unexcavated Byzantine and later town in northern Jordan. Numerous churches have been identified, and the main church - the cathedral - has been excavated and is included this the Virtual World Project. When you visit the church, note the preserved mosaics on the bema and the baptisimal font in the baptistry.