Online event in streaming on our YouTube Channel (CAMNES Studio)
The V-KAP – Virtual Kurgan Archaeological Park, a new virtual reality tour of the burial mounds (kurgans) of western Azerbaijan, will be launched on March 15th at 12 PM (GMT/UTC+1) on our YouTube Channel, CAMNES Studio. The project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), together with the Center for Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies (CAMNES) and the University of Catania, is an important step towards the achievement of one of the main objectives of the Azerbaijani-Italian project GaRKAP (Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project), co-directed by Nicola Laneri (University of Catania, CAMNES) and Bakhtiyar Jalilov (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, ANAS): disseminating knowledge, both at the local and the international level, of the extraordinary heritage represented by this peculiar type of tomb in western Azerbaijan between the 4th and 1st millennium BCE.
The project is the result of an exchange of innovative knowledge within an international team of archaeologists, students and IT experts to build capacity in the cultural sector. A navigable map of the site will introduce visitors to the virtual tour of the burial chamber of a five-thousand-year-old kurgan (‘Kurgan 8’) with its points of interest, such as structural features, burials and grave goods, explained in both English and Azerbaijani. By adopting a user-friendly interface that recalls gaming, the web app will favor a fun way of interacting with the archaeological landscape and finds, engaging users on an exciting journey into the world of the Kura-Araxes communities of the Kura River Valley.