It is my intention here to keep track of my explorations in Second Life and other worlds: archaeologists are about material culture, but how many of us are interested in virtual material culture, or the possibilities of these worlds for teaching and research?

I freelance a bit, and am working right now with a new online liberal arts university called Robert Welch University. I’m developing some archaeology classes for them, and eventually I would like to use SL to teach excavation methods. That could be very difficult….

Right now, I’d be interested in finding out what accurate(-ish) reconstructions of ancient structures people have come across in SL? Traditional archaeological reconstructions are all very well, but I think experiencing the structures, of how movement creates a reading of the building, would be a great way to start incorporating SL into my classes – a 21st century virtual reconstruction of the 18th century Grand Tour. Class projects would be to reconstruct from excavation reports, perhaps.

I came across today what seemed to be a great reconstruction of some Egyptian temples (can see them in pathfinder linden’s flickr), but when I went there, it seems that some merchants had moved in with the usual sex paraphernalia. Not exactly the experience I’d want for this class.