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:
A research group at the University of Southern California headed by Lynn Swartz Dodd, lecturer in religion at the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, will get X-ray studies of ancient Egyptian artefacts at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source. The particle accelerator will shed light on the make up and structure of metal swords, axes and figurines. In this video Ms Dodd - who holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures - explains how high-energy X-ray beams are used to learn more about ancient artefacts.
Using X-ray technology we can learn two important things about these artefacts:
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.
