Jerusalem
Israel

Telling the Story...

The project is broadly entitled, a History of Jerusalem, but the ultimate goal is to tell that history through an interactive excavation simulation of part of the City of David investigations.  The simulation will eventually become part of a much larger effort on the part of individuals and organizations around the world to pool resources online relating to the Bible and archaeology of the lands, events, and places mentioned in the Bible. The final educational and research resource will chart the history of the city and related locales from Antiquity through the establishment of the modern state of Israel.  The online materials will be varied and include, along with the simulation game under development by the Institute, high-resolution scans of 100s of key documents, interactive views and computer models of important artifacts, and stories, teaching tools, and descriptions about the past 5,000 years in and around Jerusalem.  In this manner, globally dispersed ancient texts and artifacts can once again be viewed together.
  
Aerial view of Jerusalem showing the location of Area G; © Albatross Aerial Photographs, Ltd

Aerial view of Jerusalem showing the location of Area G;
© Albatross Aerial Photographs, Ltd
click on image to enlarge

in Pictures and Words...

Several requirements were laid out for the Institute’s part in the overall online resource. The project should have its center a game that allows students to simulate the excavation of a portion of ancient Jerusalem. As the simulation proceeds and students vitually dig deeper into the past, artifacts should appear which, when clicked, should lead off to interactive models of them and link to stories that exemplify that particular period in the history of the city. The whole package should also contain views of the city, interactive maps, a timeline, and other supporting documentation to help illustrate the changing landscape of the city, the personalities that helped shape the city, and the artifacts of each phase of the city’s development.

...and a Cool Interactive Game

After some debate and checking with officials and scholars in Israel, it was decided that the focus of the simulation would be a single trench, called Area G, located on the eastern hill above the Gihon Spring near the highest point of the City of David. In the 1960s, Kathleen Kenyon had excavated in the vicinity, making significant architectural finds. Area G proper was further probed by a team directed by Yigal Shiloh and the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, from 1978 to 1985.

Wideangle view of the Area G remains, City of David, Jerusalem, that expose primarily Late Bronze Age and Iron Age construction; © 2003 Donald H. Sanders

Wideangle view of the Area G remains, City of David, Jerusalem, that expose primarily Late Bronze Age and Iron Age construction; © 2003 Donald H. Sanders

Reference
Page Created: October 5, 2004
Page Updated: December 25, 2011
URL:
Page Author: The Institute for the Visualization of History