The Israel Antiquities Authority launches the Israel National Archaeological Database - A groundbreaking digital platform, one of the largest of its kind in the world, centralizes all the archaeological information collected and researched in Israel.
The database currently includes 3,910,005 records, alongside 964,393 objects, 1,223,552 images, 15,164 3-D models, and much more. Using the new database, researchers, and the general public from Israel and abroad can browse publications, photos, 3-D scans, excavation reports, archive documents and more – in a smart search by site, period, type of find and other categories.
One of the outstanding capabilities of the system is an interactive geographic search, which allows you to plot an area of interest on a map, and to immediately receive all the relevant archaeological information – from findings to excavation documents, images, models and professional publications.
“In a country with a rich heritage like Israel, a huge collection of archaeological information from all periods has been collected over the years,” explains Alby Malka, Head of the Technologies Division at the Israel Antiquities Authority. “By Israeli law, every archaeological find that is uncovered must be reported, documented and deposited in the National Archives. As a result, data constantly gathers under the aegis of the Israel Antiquities Authority on many archaeological digs, as well as on hundreds of thousands of ancient items – from scrolls and coins to pottery, jewelry and archaic architectural elements.
A national archaeological database, which gathers and makes all this knowledge accessible both to the lay public and to researchers, is a tool of paramount importance for scientific research, for preserving the country’s heritage, and for deepening public knowledge, with tools accessible and inviting to the younger generation. This database represents a real revolution. Instead of spending months physically traveling and searching in print archives and reports, any researcher anywhere in the world – and really any person, there are no restrictions – can type in a single word or mark a point on the map, and receive all the available collected information in seconds, directly into their hands. This is truly a monumental and transformative leap forward that at once puts Israel at the forefront of global archaeological research.”