There's a guy coming tonight to lecture about an archaeological database of the ancient world that he and his computer science students created, in conjunction with archaeology students. Eventually, you'll be able to search for any of about 100 terms, like "cemetery" or "church," and a Google map will pinpoint every instance where your keyword applies; then the database will kick in and give you all the information relative to whichever point(s) you click on. This will apply from the Early Bronze Age up to the dawn of the Ottoman Empire (that's several thousand years) all throughout the Mediterranean and the Holy Land. It's an impressive feat. Of course, it won't directly help me or my research in any way, but there's a free dinner in the faculty club involved, so....
ETA: You can see the first operational "node" of the database, the Digital Archaeological Atlas of the Holy Land, here. You need a Google Earth plug-in, but it's pretty cool!
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