Published online at http://asorblog.org/?p=4641 THE VIRTUAL WORLD PROJECT: TOURING THE ANCIENT WORLD Figure 1. The entry page of the Virtual World Project website. Ronald A. Simkins and Nicolae Roddy, Creighton University There is nothing quite like teaching at an archaeological site, where ancient remains almost speak out to students as witnesses of the past. Both authors have led study tours in Israel, taking students to archaeological sites like Tel Dan, Bethsaida, Megiddo, Arad, Beersheba, and others, lecturing there among the stones on archaeology, history, and the Bible. As we would walk through the architectural remains, our students would experience the ancient world first hand; issues of daily life, social structure, urbanism, ecology, and industry were given a material context that the students readily grasped. Because students learn in multiple ways—there are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners—teaching on site is able to maximize the students’ learning through these multiple ways. Unfortunately, it is difficult to replicate this experience back home in the traditional university classroom. Archaeological materials are readily available for course use, but much of it is difficult and not-easily accessible for undergraduate students. Archaeological field reports are often too technical and contain too much data for students. Synthetic and popular studies offer greater accessibility, but the spatial context of the ancient archaeological site remains elusive. Photographs and slides may give a good representation of the features of a site, but for the student who has no personal experience, putting the 1 images together into a single, holistic context is nearly impossible. The images remain at best fragmented, two-dimensional representations that lack the orientation, scale, and spatial context that one gains from first-hand experience. The Virtual World Project (www.virtualworldproject.org) was created to overcome these shortcomings by bridging the gap between the traditional classroom and the immediate experience one gains from touring an archaeological site. Figure 2. In Herod’s fortified palace in the upper Herodium (version 1.0) The Virtual World Project enables students to tour archaeological sites using their computers. Each virtual tour consists of numerous 360-degree panoramas linked to an interactive map of the site. Although the images are still technically two-dimensional, they are no longer static; the interactive mode of viewing the images gives the impression of three dimensions, and thus referred to as “immersive technology.” The 360-degree panoramas are placed strategically throughout the site in order to provide multiple perspectives on architectural remains, as well as allow the student to grasp the spatial context of the features in relation to one another. The interactive map places each panorama in the context of the entire site and enables the student to navigate freely among its many vantage points. Although unable to replicate a physical tour of an archaeological site, short of any future holographic or other artificial sensory experience, the Virtual World Project enables students to come as close as possible to the experience of touring an ancient site without actually leaving home. At present, the Virtual World Project has photographed over 200 archaeological sites in Israel and Jordan, comprising over 100,000 digital photos stitched into thousands of 3602 degree panoramas. Although not all of its sites are yet available online (the project is continually being updated and expanded), most are accessible through version 1.0 of the project. This version was established in 2004, and includes sites from the Paleolithic period through the Crusader and late-Islamic periods. It uses Adobe Flash, which is installed on most computers, to display the panoramas and operate the interactive maps; this version will thus not work on the iPad. Navigation of the tours is primarily through the use of interactive maps, with some sites equipped with audio interpretation at selected spots. No further work is being done on this version. Version 2.0, inaugurated in 2011, updates the project with newer technologies. In particular, Adobe Flash was abandoned in favor of HTML 5, which allows the project to work on the iPad and similar devices. The interface of the tours was also simplified, and navigation through the sites was linked to “hotspots” in the panoramas, resulting in a more intuitive and seamless form of navigation. Version 2.0 requires the most recent browsers (Safari, Firefox, and Chrome are supported), and currently includes all sites from the Paleolithic through Iron Age periods. Eventually, version 2.0 will completely replace version 1.0, at which time version 1.0 will be taken offline. Both versions come with a table of contents that enables students to choose sites based on period, region, or even a particular feature (e.g., a type of gate, installation, or dwelling). Each site also includes a current bibliography to aid the student in research. Both versions have help screens to familiarize the students with the basic features of the project. Finally, a project blog is used to track updates, make announcements, and to receive feedback. The Virtual World Project has a threefold purpose: 1. Technological, creating a robust interactive tool designed for exploring the ancient world of Israel and Jordan with virtual tours of archaeological sites from the Paleolithic (e.g., Carmel Caves) through the Late Islamic (e.g., Ajlun) periods, using the best computer technologies available; 2. Pedagogical, providing a resource for teachers and students across a wide range of disciplines to tour the archaeological sites of Israel and Jordan, allowing navigation based on archaeological period, geographical region, or architectural features; 3. Conservational, producing a visual database to ensure the virtual preservation of these sites as they presently exist, as the architectural remains suffer erosion from natural exposure or neglect, or undergo modifications to accommodate the tourist industry, and, in some cases, to track the progress of active digs over successive excavation seasons. The Virtual World Project may be used as a supplement to lectures in the classroom. Projected onto a large screen with an LCD Projector (commonly found in many classrooms), the panoramas in full-screen mode simulate an IMAX theater experience for the students. With a little practice, a professor may seamlessly jump between displaying an artifact through a PowerPoint presentation (such as the fragmentary Tel Dan stela), to locating the find spot on the Virtual World Project’s interactive site map, to touring the site through the panoramas. The large full-screen projection of the panoramas “brings to life” and illustrates the lecture by “immersing” the students in the visual world of the archaeological sites. 3 Figure 3. Outside the Iron Age gate at Tel Dan (version 2.0) More significant for active learning, however, the Virtual World Project’s open-access, web-based architecture allows students to conduct their own tours of archeological sites wherever they might have Internet access. The intuitive design of the project enables students to work independently to complete guided homework assignments or to discover new insights following their own initiative. The possibilities for use of the project are limited only by the user’s imagination. Students have used the project to explore such things as domestic living, urban planning, architectural form and function, strategic defense, economics, cultic structures and installations, and regional cultural and political horizons. Some instructor-guided projects, which have worked particularly well for the authors, include the following: • Examining the distinct Iron Age water systems at Hazor, Megiddo, and Beer-sheba (in class or independently) effectively underscores the importance of water sources for ancient cities and can be used to help bring to life the biblical accounts of siege; • Tracing the development of domestic structures in the region over time—from Neolithic circular stone hovels and corridor houses, through the pillared houses of the Iron Age, to the large courtyard villas of the Greeks and Romans—allows students to appreciate the changes in daily life and the extent to which houses varied in the Levant; • An exploration of the gate complexes at various Iron Age cities informs discussion about the important sorts of activities that took place in and around these monumental urban structures during that period; 4 • Comparing the installations associated with the Iron Age gate complexes at Bethsaida and Tel Dan helps illustrate the difficulties often associated with interpreting archaeological assemblages, especially those that may be of a cultic nature; • Studying and comparing the project’s many shrines and temples can help illustrate the layout of sacred space across cultures and over time; • Roman-period cities at Jerash (Gerasa), Beth Shean, and Petra offer examples of Roman imperial urban planning, allowing the student to see and describe such typical features such as the colonnade street, theaters, and baths; • Viewing the strategically-aligned placement of Roman-period castella or medievalperiod Crusader and Islamic fortresses serves to demonstrate the ancient concept of frontier zones of influence, in contrast to modern-day borders drawn as lines on a map; • Last, but certainly not least, the vestiges of local economies can be explored as a means for better understanding of ancient life and livelihood. These are just a few examples of things that can be done through instructor-guided assignments, both in and outside the classroom. The Virtual World Project was designed for teaching and learning, and the authors welcome feedback on way in which to improve the project. 5