Qumran Visualization Project

College of Letters and Science, Humanities Division

Primary contact

William Schniedewind
Chair, Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department
Kershaw Chair of Ancient Eastern Mediterranean Studies
(310) 206-2405
williams@humnet.ucla.edu

Project URL

www.nelc.ucla.edu/qumran/

Additional project researchers

Dr. Aaron Burke, Assistant Professor of Levantine Archaeology, Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department

Robert R. Cargill, doctoral student and primary modeler, Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department

Project description

The Qumran Visualization Project is the first in a planned series of projects designed to join archaeological presentation to the classroom and the public with archaeological research through the use of virtual reality 3D modeling. Much attention has been given to the archaeological remains at Khirbet Qumran, the site that sits near the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Although the Dead Sea Scrolls have been called one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, the site where they were found has never been reconstructed as a totality. The UCLA Qumran Visualization Project uses real-time technology to model the entire site of Qumran as well as the surrounding region where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Viewers can move in and through the buildings and the surrounding vicinity evaluating arrangements, experiencing different lighting conditions, among other features. The model allows us to illustrate and visualize reconstructed sites. This is especially helpful to non-archaeologists, who cannot easily visualize or reconstruct ancient sites simply from a site map or floor plan. In addition, the model also allows the researcher to test new theories, ideas, and reconstructions about the function of the ancient site and the way of life of the community that lived there.

From the beginning, the Qumran Visualization Project has established one, overarching guideline for the creation of the model. Knowing the growing number of alternative theories surrounding the settlement at Khirbet Qumran, many of which criticize the influence of the Scrolls upon the archaeology, we felt it was of the utmost, critical importance to allow the archaeological remains to speak for themselves. That is to say, the model would stay true to the archaeological remains - the rocks in the ground. We would model the consensus of the archaeological findings, beginning with deVaux's original excavations, as preserved and published by Humbert and Chambon, and then incorporate subsequent excavations and surveys as appropriate.

Special thanks to all the sponsors, including the UCLA Academic Technology Services, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the UCLA Humanities Incubator Group, the Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department, and all the individuals who have assisted with the Qumran Visualization Project.

Project video