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/

 

 

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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