The Jerusalem Archaeological Park Website: Presenting Archaeological Data Online Rachel Kudish-Vashdi and Yuval Baruch www.archpark.org.ilis a web site dedicated to the archaeology of Jerusalem throughout its long history of existence. Its basic feature is a huge, actually endless, database, which includes dozens of articles telling the story of the city, arranged according to periods and topics. The web site exploits the advantages of the digital media by allowing internal links to relevant articles, as well as to historical sources, to biographies of excavators and historical figures and to a selected bibliography. A detailed glossary is available too. To date, the site includes three major periods in the history of the city: the First Temple, the Second Temple and the Early Islamic; The Byzantine and Crusader periods are on the way. The articles on site can be accessed through the main menu or by an active time line built by flash technology. This time line shows the main periods exhibited in the site, as well as a short description of the major events that took place during those periods. The web site also includes panoramic views (360 degrees) of the Virtual Reconstruction Model of the Second Temple area, which is housed in the Davidson Center, located near the Dung Gate, in the precincts of the archaeological park, Jerusalem. One of the new features on our site are three interactive maps:
(1) A map of the excavation areas in the City of David and the Ophel area – this map shows most of the excavation areas according to their excavator/s, and enhances the major finds at those spots.
(2) A map of the water supply systems – this map presents the most recent understanding of the much renowned Warren’s Shaft System and Hezekiah’s Tunnel, accompanied by photographs and plans.
(3) A map of the city’s limits – this is actually composed of three individual maps that illustrate the wall line in three periods: the First Temple, the Second Temple and the Early Islamic. The first two maps are accompanied by relevant, up-to-date, articles, rendered in a clear and flowing format. www.archpark.org.ilis still in process, but as it is, it already sets an important example for exploiting different technologies for the presentation of archaeological data from large excavations. These days we are adding to the site a gallery of finds, which will serve as a virtual online museum for the significant artifacts uncovered in Jerusalem throughout the many excavations carries out in the city in the past century and a half.
