Interactive 3D Journey Reveals the Inside of Egyptian Pyramids
An interactive journey through the Great Pyramid of Khufu is now possible from your PC at home. After downloading the software you can manoeuvre yourself, with the help of 3D glasses, through the corridors of one of the world’s most magnificent monuments.
The 3D simulation, created by a French software firm , is a new way of exploring , learning and teaching ancient history. The viewer finds himself on location and gets an insight of what life might have been like thousands of years ago in Ancient Egypt.
The pyramid is one of the three great pyramids at Giza, located about 20 km southwest of Cairo. The biggest one, also called the Great Pyramid of Cheops, rises 146 meters into the sky. It has three chambers in which the pharaoh and his belongings were buried . Although the sarcophagus still rests in the king’s chamber , no mummy has ever been found there.
The simulation also shows how the giant structure might have been built. It is made of two million stone blocks, weighing about 2.5 tons each. The theory shown suggests that Egyptian slaves may have constructed an inside ramp to move the stone blocks to the top.
For many years French architects and archaeologists have been working on a technology to find out what the inside of the pyramid was like. They set up infrared cameras to find out possible secret chambers or hidden corridors that have not been discovered yet.
A robot has also been exploring the inside passageways of the pyramid in an attempt to find new chambers and doors. The robot crawls as a mechanical worm with a small camera mounted on it so that it can see into places that humans have not got to yet.
In any case, there are still secrets to be revealed about Egypt’s great pyramid.
The interactive viewer can be downloaded at http://www.3ds.com/company/passion-for-innovation/the-projects/khufu-reborn/3d-experience/
Related Topics
- Life in Ancient Egypt
- Cleopatra - Egyptian Queen and Her Love Affairs
- Sphinx - Imaginary Creature of Ancient Cultures
- Mummies
- Tourism in Egypt Decreasing Since the Revolution
- 4400 Year-Old Tomb Found Near Giza Pyramids
Words
- although = while
- ancient = old
- archaeologist = person who studies old cultures and what is left of old buildings
- attempt = try
- belongings = the things that were his own
- bury = to put something or someone in a grave
- chamber = room
- construct = build
- corridor = passage, hall
- crawl = to move slowly, especially in a low room or hall
- discover = to find for the first time
- explore = to find out things that are not yet known
- firm = company
- giant = very big
- hide-hid-hidden = secret, difficult to see or find
- human = people
- infrared = light that gives heat but cannot be seen
- insight = a clear understanding of something
- interactive = a computer program that does things depending on what you enter ; you can communicate with the software
- journey = trip
- magnificent = very beautiful, great
- manoeuvre = move
- mount = place, put, install
- mummy = a dead body that is preserved by wrapping it in cloth
- on location = at the original place
- passageway = hall, corridor
- pharaoh = Egyptian king
- ramp = slope that is made out of wood or other material to connect two places that are on different levels
- reveal = show
- sarcophagus = a decorated stone box for a dead body, used in old times
- secret = known only by few people
- simulation = to produce something that is like the real thing
- slave = someone who is owned by another person and works for them
- structure = building, object
- suggest = to make someone think that something is true
- technology = new method
- weigh = how heavy something is