Talking Pyramids

The Giza Archives Project at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has for many years been the most extensive online resource on the archaeology of the Giza Plateau. Much of the archived material is from the 40 years of excavations carried out by Egyptologist George Reisner who led the the Harvard University-Boston MFA expedition at Giza from 1902 to 1942.

Now the Giza Archives Project has moved into the virtual arena with the release of Giza 3D!

However, this is not the first time the project has used 3D immersive technology to explore the possibilities of ‘Virtual Egyptology’. About four years ago the Giza Archives Project developed a presence in the online virtual platform Second Life with an exhibit featuring ten mastaba-tombs of Cemetery G2100 at Giza.

Now, with the help of Dassault Systèmes, the 3D software company that worked with Jean-Pierre Houdin to create ‘Khufu Revealed’, a fully immersive interactive experience of the tombs of the Giza Plateau will be created for both specialists and the general public.

According to the Dassault Systèmes website, the partnership will “imagine new forms of multi-platform experiences, whether individual or collective, through Internet devices or through more complex virtual and augmented reality systems, using game consoles, 3D screens or even movie theaters willing to create new kinds of archeological immersive interactions…” and “…will result in new forms of scientific inquiry and communication. Virtual archaeology, using the power of scientific simulation tools and 3D immersive experiences, raises new questions, offers new hypotheses and allows us to simulate them in virtual environments.

Unlike attempts by other companies to recreate ancient Egyptian artefacts and environments in 3D, this real-time virtual reconstruction of the Giza Plateau is accurately replicated by using actual archaeological data. As such, it has great potential as an educational research tool.

As Peter Der Manuelian put it:

“These tools and approaches offer new dimensions to Egyptological research, allowing for innovation and enhanced knowledge sharing. In Dassault Systèmes we found a company partner devoted to both scientific accuracy and technological creativity.”

Watch the video flythrough of the interactive application showing some of the tombs located at the Giza plateau:

References:
Giza 3D
Giza Archives Project
Virtual Giza
Giza Cemetery 2100 in SecondLife

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Tags: Giza