The Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx. Image via Wikipedia
Excavation site virtual reconstructions attempt to portray the actual appearance of significant archaeological sites in a 3D world. Visitors to a site can freely explore its re-created buildings and begin to get a sense of what it would be like to travel to the real site and discover its secrets firsthand.
Egyptologists were among the first historians to use 3D graphic software to accurately portray excavation sites. Giza-3D, for example, allows users to explore a tomb excavation located on Egypt’s Giza Plateau. A Macquarie University historian has recently developed a 3D site world that accurately re-creates the Tomb of Memi (also known as Kagemni). Read her description of the site below:
Tomb of Memi Forecourt
Located in Upper Egypt, the cemetery of El-Hawawish was a popular burial ground between the Fifth and Twelfth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt. One tomb discovered at El-Hawawish belonged to Memi, the Governor of the province Akhmim, which has been dated to the late Fifth Dynasty.
Originally excavated in the early 1900s, the Tomb of Memi has slowly begun to weather and deteriorate due to the natural forces of erosion and exposure to the elements.
This 3D reconstruction, depicting the Tomb of Memi, incorporates many of the architectural features, such as the portico and numerous columns, that are no longer present. This 3D world allows you to see the Tomb of Memi as it would have appeared soon after construction.
Related articles
- Ancient Egypt (socyberty.com)
- Egypt unearths 4,500-year-old tomb (topinews.com)
