December 20, 1996

The Oriental Institute's Ancient Near East (ANE) discussion list has started up again, in new and improved formats, and the digest archives of all discussions are available via your WWW browser. We encourage you to subscribe to one of the lists and join in the conversations regarding the ancient Near East.


November 21, 1996

As we approach the Holiday season, please do not forget to include the Oriental Institute on your gift-giving list. We have prepared a document, 1996 Gift/Pledge Information, to assist you. Happy holidays, and thank you for your support of the Oriental Institute.


November 1, 1996

An Adult Education course, being taught entirely on the Internet, entitled "Introduction to Ancient Egypt", starts on November 4, 1996. This publicly available homepage outlines the course description, and individuals can express their interest in future course offerings.


October 21, 1996

Separate listings of Scholars and Institutions involved in Demotic studies are now available on the Oriental Institute's Demotic Dictionary Project homepage. Information on how to be included in these two listings is also available.


October 9, 1996

The Oriental Institute Suq (Museum Store) is sponsoring an Oriental Rug Symposium on October 26-27, 1996 and Sale on October 23-30, 1996, at the Oriental Institute. Come one, come all, and catch the Oriental "Rug Bug".


August 26, 1996

The Persian Gallery and the Temporary Exhibits Gallery are now available from the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum, as well as Apple QTVR panoramic movies of the Oriental Institute Research Archives and Breasted Hall. This completes the first phase of development for the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum.


August 23, 1996

The third installment of the photographic exhibit by the Epigraphic Survey's staff photographer, Tom Van Eynde, is now available. Photographs in the exhibition, entitled Tom Van Eynde: Thebes Photographic Project, are updated bi-monthly.


August 8, 1996

Research updates for three Oriental Institute research projects are now available from their HomePages, as follows:


August 6, 1996

A progress report on the Oriental Institute Museum renovation project, RENOVATION MOVES FORWARD, written by Assistant Curator Emily Teeter, is now available.


July 26, 1996

A new Archaeology Project is now posting recent results on the Oriental Institute WWW server. Oriental Institute Assistant Professor David Schloen reports on the Ashkelon Excavations, of which he is the Associate Director. The excavations are sponsored by Harvard University and The Semitic Museum.


July 25, 1996

The Mesopotamian Gallery of the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum is now open, with 12 more QTVR panoramic movie files and exhibition descriptions as well as detailed listings of the more than 1,300 Mesopotamian artifacts on display.


July 23, 1996

A special exhibit of the Oriental Institute Museum, FACES OF ANCIENT EGYPT, will be displayed at the University of Chicago's David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, from September 10, 1996 through March 9, 1997.


June 14, 1996

Information about a new Oriental Institute archaeological project, the Amuq Valley Regional Projects, is now available, starting with a report of its 1995 season.


June 13, 1996

New Gallery Image-based Menus are now available to help visitors find their way around the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum.


June 11, 1996

A new Subject-based Menu is now available to help visitors find their way around the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum.


June 5, 1996

The Oriental Institute is pleased to announce the availability of the ORIENTAL INSTITUTE VIRTUAL MUSEUM on the World Wide Web.

The Oriental Institute Virtual Museum makes use of a series of Apple QuickTime VR panoramic movies to take you on an detailed tour of each of the Museum's galleries, accompanied by descriptions of each alcove and its artifacts. Where appropriate, links to related materials on our server, such as the Museum's Highlights From The Collections, the Photographic Archives, and relevant Oriental Institute Archaeology and Philology projects will elaborate on the most significant objects in greater detail.

Special, FREE, software is required to view the panoramic movie part of the Virtual Museum. Instructions for obtaining and installing this software are included in the Virtual Museum pages.


May 28, 1996

A new object, The Mummy and Coffin of Meresamun, has been added to the Highlights From The Collection section of the Museum Home Page. It contains information obtained from digital radiograph and CT scans of the mummy performed by the University of Chicago Hospital.


May 26,

A new article, A BALIKH PROSPECT, is now available in the Landscape Studies in Upper Mesopotamia Project from the Archaeology Home Page.


May 23, 1996

All of the 1994-95 Oriental Institute Annual Report entries are now available. They can be accessed in Table of Contents form, or they can be reached through the HomePages of the various Archaeological and Philological projects, OI Department HomePages, and the Individual Scholarship HomePages. Additionally, they are listed in the May 5 and 23 updates to the Abzu What's New HomePage.


May 17, 1996

The Oriental Institute Membership Office announces a new Travel Program, Ancient Anatolia: A Journey To Turkey. This travel program will take you to the centers of the many ancient civilizations of Turkey---to the cities of the Hittites at Hattusa and Karatepe, the remains of Constantinople, the painted rock churches of Cappadocia, the Phrygian capital at Gordion, and many others from September 28 - October 13, 1996.


May 6, 1996

About one half of the Oriental Institute 1994-1995 Annual Report entries for the various research projects and individual scholarship by Institute faculty, staff, and research associates are now available from each project homepage. The remaining entries will be finished and available next week.


April 30, 1996

The second installment of the photographic exhibit by the Epigraphic Survey's staff photographer, Tom Van Eynde, is now available. Photographs in the exhibition, entitled Tom Van Eynde: Thebes Photographic Project, will be updated bi-monthly over the next year.


April 16, 1996

The Oriental Institute Web Site has received several awards during the past six months, so we have instituted an Awards Page.


March 19, 1996

A revised description of the Afroasiatic Index Project (formerly the Cushitic Lexicon Project) is now available.


March 6, 1996

The Oriental Institute Museum Education Office has updated its program listings for 1995-96, as well as changing the "look" of its WWW pages. New courses, events, and other opportunities for the public are included. Take a look!!!


February 29, 1996

An on-line version of a photographic exhibit by the Epigraphic Survey's staff photographer, Tom Van Eynde, is now available. Photographs in the exhibition, entitled Tom Van Eynde: Thebes Photographic Project, will be updated bi-monthly over the next year.


February 13, 1996

The latest edition of the Chicago House Bulletin, December 15, 1995, a communication of the Epigraphic Survey detailing the progress of work at Luxor, Egypt, and other events at Chicago House, is now available.


February 8, 1996

The Oriental Institute announces a major grant for the conservation of the Temple of Amun at Medinet Habu in Luxor, Egypt.