Archive/The Pilgrimage
Walkable sacred sites
The Pilgrimage
Step through the golden portal in the museumStep through a portal from the museum’s Rotunda and walkrsquo;s entrance hall and walk inside the places themselves, modelled from published surveys. Each holds copies of its relics, linked to the Vault and to the chapters. Sites open one or two at a time.
Every site is our own model. No one else’s photographs or 3D scans are used; published plans and measurements are references only. What is measured, what is approximate and what is unknown is said on site, by the same evidence standard as the chapters.
- Reconstruction Lost or destroyed: what you walk is a labelled reconstruction.
- Claimed site A claimed or traditional site: the dispute over it is shown on site.
- Exterior only Religiously restricted or sensitive: shown from outside only.
The Rotundacomparative themes
- ComingClaimed site
Mount Ararat & the Ark tradition
Era I · Prehistorybefore c. 3500 BCE
- Coming
Göbekli Tepe
- Coming
Lascaux
- Coming
Chauvet
- Coming
Çatalhöyük
- Coming
Stonehenge
- Coming
Newgrange
- Coming
Drakensberg rock art
- ComingExterior only
Uluru
Era II · The Bronze Agec. 3300 – 1200 BCE
- Open · walk itRecently added · pending review
The Great Pyramid of Khufu
Walk the five interior spaces of Khufu’s pyramid, sized from Petrie’s survey: the descending and ascending passages, the Grand Gallery, the King’s Chamber with its granite sarcophagus, and the Queen’s Chamber.
Enter the site - Coming
Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62)
- Coming
Tomb of Nefertari (QV66)
- Coming
Karnak
- Coming
Ziggurat of Ur
- Coming
Knossos
- Coming
Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro
- Coming
Hattusa
- Coming
La Venta
Era III · The Early Iron Agec. 1200 – 550 BCE
- ComingReconstruction
Solomon's Temple
- Coming
Delphi
- Coming
Mount Olympus
- Coming
Yinxu at Anyang
- Coming
Meroë pyramids
- Coming
Tarquinia Etruscan tombs
Era IV · The Axial Agec. 800 BCE – 200 CE
- ComingReconstruction
Library of Alexandria
- Coming
Parthenon
- ComingReconstruction
Herod's Temple
- Coming
Qumran caves
- Coming
Persepolis
- Coming
Bodh Gaya (Mahabodhi)
- Coming
Great Stupa at Sanchi
- Coming
Eleusis
- Coming
Pantheon (Rome)
- Coming
Temple of Confucius, Qufu
Era V · Late Antiquityc. 200 – 800 CE
- ComingClaimed site
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
- ComingClaimed site
Garden Tomb
- Coming
Roman catacombs
- Coming
Hagia Sophia
- Coming
Mithraeum under San Clemente
- Coming
Petra
- Coming
Aksum
- Coming
Mogao Caves
- ComingExterior only
Dome of the Rock
- ComingExterior only
Kaaba
Era VI · The Early Medievalc. 800 – 1100 CE
- Coming
Great Mosque of Córdoba
- Coming
Borobudur
- Coming
Kailasa Temple, Ellora
- Coming
Jokhang Temple
- Coming
Lindisfarne
- ComingReconstruction
Uppsala temple
- ComingExterior only
Ise Grand Shrine
Era VII · The High Medievalc. 1100 – 1500 CE
- Coming
Chartres Cathedral
- Coming
Notre-Dame de Paris
- Coming
Angkor Wat
- Coming
Chichén Itzá
- ComingReconstruction
Templo Mayor
- Coming
Machu Picchu
- Coming
Coricancha, Cusco
- Coming
Lalibela
- Coming
Montségur
Era VIII · The Early Modernc. 1500 – 1800 CE
- Coming
St. Peter's Basilica
- Coming
Sistine Chapel & the Vatican
- Coming
Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib)
- Coming
Fatehpur Sikri
- Coming
Taj Mahal
- Coming
Wittenberg Castle Church
- ComingReconstruction
Benin royal palace
Era IX · The Modern Agec. 1800 – present
- Coming
Hill Cumorah
- Coming
Shrine of the Báb
- Coming
Lily Dale
- Coming
Bois Caïman
- ComingReconstruction
Azusa Street Mission
The way in: the museum, through the golden portal in its entrance hall. See the methodology for the sourcing standard.