Paleolithic through Iron Age Period

Version 2.0 of the Virtual World Project has now been updated to include all sites from the Paleolithic period through the Iron Age. Sites after these periods are being converted to 2.0, and sites that have yet to be completed are also being updated in a completed form.

Version 2.0 update

All Neolithic–Late Bronze Age sites have been updated to the new version 2.0 format, and should be accessed using version 2.0. We are presently working on updating all the Iron Age sites.

The version 2.0 help screens have also been completed.

Version 2.0

In order for the Virtual World Project to be usable on iPads and other tablet computers, we are converting the project entirely to HTML5 and CSS3 (in other words, we are removing Flash at the main engine for displaying the panoramic movies). The project is also updated with a new, cleaner and more simple graphical interface so that navigation of archaeological sites will be easier and more intuitive. With over 170 photographed sites, this conversion and update will take some time. Progress on the new updated site can be viewed by clicking on the "2.0" link in the black navigation bar on the project's home page.

En Gedi

En Gedi is a large oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea and the location of several archaeological sites. In addition to a Chalolithic temple (previously implemented on the Virtual World Project), a late Roman-Byzantine Jewish village with a synagogue has been uncovered. Several houses, workshops, storerooms, and a bath have been exposed in the northern part of the village. The workshops and numerous installations attest to the processing of balsam, which was perhaps the primary economic industry of the village.

Check out the village on the project.

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.