At approximately the same cost to produce a traditional book publication, which would necessarily be limited to a selection of artifacts presented in photographic form, DigMaster has come to include online every artifact in the Halif collection as well as all related information. Nothing has been omitted from the database. Second, the goal of forming the foundation for a reliable database was reached already with the completion of the 550th figurine from Halif. Along with the Maresha 39, the addition of the Marion 1,000 will greatly expand and multiply its reliability. One emotional factor discovered in the process of going online with the archaeological artifacts is the instant gratification of seeing one's work immediately available to any person with the basic electronic equipment, anywhere in the world.
Online publication is a powerful tool, and heady, too.
The Authors Dr. Paul Jacobs , currently Head of the Department of Philosophy and Religion with a joint appointment in the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University, is director of the Lahav Research Project Phase III excavations at Tell Halif in southern Israel. Jacobs has worked in excavations in Israel and elsewhere since 1970, in particular at the ancient sites Tell Gezer, Tell Halif, and Caesarea. Christopher Holland is an undergraduate student attending Mississippi State University with a major in Art with an emphasis in Computer Animation and Graphic Design. He has been involved with the Web since its earliest days and has designed Web sites for both commercial and educational applications. Current projects include DigMaster and DigitalDarwins, an educational site for the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.