(Communicated by the Israel Antiquities Authority)

Genesis 1:1 (the account of creation), the Ten Commandments, Psalms, and 11 other 2,000 year old manuscripts are featured in this App that introduces kids ages 7-11 to archaeology with a suite of unique games, featuring beautiful artifacts from the National Treasures of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Dig Quest: Israel for iPhone and iPad is now available to download from the App Store for free.

The App transforms a kid’s iPhone or iPad into an archaeological tool and lets them play games to hone their skills, discover secret meanings, solve puzzles, and piece the past together like true archaeologists. Along the way they unlock ancient artifacts and create their own personal collection.

The games were developed in collaboration with the IAA’s team of pre-eminent archaeologists and researchers. As they play, kids get a feel for what archaeologists do as they experience the excitement of discovery and the creativity and skills involved in solving mysteries from the distant past.

Players select between two dig sites - each has a unique game that puts the player in the driver's seat and requires using different archaeological skills.  At Lod, you clear the dirt to uncover an ancient Roman period mosaic and then play a fast-paced quiz-style game using your smarts and powers of observation to identify and classify the animals and objects on the mosaic.

In the Qumran caves, you discover fragments of the 2,000 year-old Dead Sea Scrolls that you piece together in a puzzle game. Then you scan the scrolls to reveal their text more clearly, mirroring the advanced spectral imaging process performed by the IAA team in the laboratories.

Each site features Discoveries for you to uncover that tell you more about the story of the excavation and the artifacts you find. You can collect the artifacts and discoveries in your own Collection box.

The game features:
•    30+ levels in two unique games based on two world famous archaeological discoveries
•    50+ images of stunning historical treasures
•    Amazing historical and archaeological facts and artifacts
•    Translated and spoken excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls
•    A collection box where players store artifacts and discoveries
•    An archaeologist character host, Gabe, inspired by real IAA archaeologists

The App is launching with two games, and additional games are planned as well as an Android release.

Dig Quest: Israel is made possible by a generous gift from Estanne Fawer and the William Davidson Foundation.

About the Israel Antiquities Authority:
The Israel Antiquities Authority is the pre-eminent organization in the field of Israeli archaeology. It is responsible for all matters of archaeology in Israel including land and marine excavations, development and protection of archaeological sites, archaeological research, education, publication, conservation and restoration of objects and sites, and exhibitions of archaeological material in Israel and abroad. It is the keeper of the State Treasures, including nearly 2 million archaeological objects among them the entire collection of Dead Sea Scrolls, and more than 30,000 archaeological sites.

About the Development Team:
Created by Producer Maya Cohan and Game Designer Jessica Rosenblatt with development team Crater House, a San Francisco-based game studio that specializes in inventing new ways to play.