Nemrud Dagi, Türkiye

In 1995, Learning Sites developed several prototype virtual worlds, including two of Nemrud Dagi, in order to demonstrate the feasibility of linking interactive virtual worlds to text, image, and narration databases. Those pioneering efforts provided visitors (wearing early head- and boom-mounted VR displays) with options for a self-guided educational exploration of this unique site.

Screen grab from our first version of the Nemrud Dagi virtual world. View from the East Terrace toward the double podium upon which has been reconstructed the colossal enthroned statue of King Antiochus (c. 8m high); the whole framed by his tumulus. This first model explored the viability of building virtual worlds for export to various types of VR displays.

Screen grab from our second version of the Nemrud Dagi virtual world. View from the East Terrace up to the upper podium where the line of colossal enthroned statues sat. The mouse buttons on the screen indicated that text, 2D images, or segments of explanatory narration were accessible from this location. These advanced features demonstrated that virtual reality could become a viable educational resource, a new type of scholarly publication venue, and an integral means of testing archaeology hypotheses.

Screen grab from our second version of the Nemrud Dagi virtual world. A view from up on the tumulus shows the extent of the East Terrace model.

Screen grab from our second version of the Nemrud Dagi virtual world. This view shows that once a user clicked on King Antiochus, it would pop up information from the linked databases, in this case, photographs and an audio file. Other features across the virtual world (e.g., ancestor reliefs and animal sculpture) also led to similar linked information. These are features unique to Learning Sites virtual worlds.