Submitted by Sean Williams on Wed, 12/02/2009 - 15:28
Remember the story we reported about three months ago, about the Mayan pyramids being giant musical instruments? The idea seems to have struck a chord with experts based in Malta, who - either by design or jealousy - have heralded the acoustic talents of their own megalithic landmarks. The tiny Mediterranean island was once home to a highly developed civilisation, who between the fourth and third millennia BC created some of the world's most striking ancient architecture. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the huge temple complex is a majestic wonder which predates Stonehenge by up to a thousand years.
Archaeologists from USC, UCLA and the Middle East have developed a searchable online map that details 7,000 archeological sites on the West Bank and Jerusalem - many of them never publicy disclosed. The map - an effort to identify Israeli archaeological activity since 1967, when Israel took over the West Bank and East Jerusalem - is freely accesibly online at the USC's Digital Library.
Built over several years through hundreds of hours of research, bolstered by freedom of information requests and, when necessary, a lawsuit in Israeli courts, the Web site provides interactive satellite maps showing locations of about 7,000 archaeological sites in the region, including:
Virtual Qumran designer Dr. Robert Cargill is at the forefront of a rapidly evolving discipline. He uses virtual reality as a tool to conduct archaeological research on Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves. An archaeologist by training, Cargill has taken it upon himself to learn how to create a virtual reality model of a site, a skill most archaeologists haven’t picked up - yet. He generously took some time off from his busy schedule to talk to me about Virtual Qumran and how virtual reality is changing archaeology.
Model Behaviour
Highlighted Quote:
"One of the things that I’m proud of is that I’ve offered the world, I’ve offered whoever’s interested, a new methodology of doing virtual reconstruction"
The UCLA team creating and updating a virtual model of Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves, have now released free photos and videos of their work, which are now available to view and download from their website. Their project started in 2005 and has been continuing ever since, adding new archaeological information as it comes along. It includes a number of photos, and short videos which you can watch in high definition on their site, or on youtube.
Challenging the University of Virginia's Ancient Rome in 3D, the UCLA's Digital Karnak is a three-dimensional virtual-reality model that runs in real time and allows users to navigate 2,000 years of history at the ancient Egyptian religious site Karnak, one of the largest temple complexes ever constructed.
Today, the Karnak site — where generations of pharaohs constructed temples, obelisks, sphinxes and other sacred structures beginning in the 20th century B.C. — is a popular tourist destination near modern-day Luxor.
Archaeologists from USC, UCLA and the Middle East have developed a searchable online map that details 7,000 archeological sites on the West Bank and Jerusalem - many of them never publicy disclosed. The map - an effort to identify Israeli archaeological activity since 1967, when Israel took over the West Bank and East Jerusalem - is freely accesibly online at the USC's Digital Library.
