A Necropolis Across the Ages
At the Saqqara cemetery in Egypt this year archaeologists excavated many painted coffins. But that represents only one small aspect of this major burial area. Royals and elites chose this necropolis during several dynasties. If you have traveled to Egypt, you almost certainly visited Saqqara. The step pyramid of Djoser is perhaps the most distinctive monument there. (Photo above by Gary Ku on Wiki.) However, the over-abundance of structures and the changes to them over Saqqara’s long history pose a major problem.
Seeing Saqqara in a Whole New Way
It’s hard to “see” an archaeological site when there are so many layers and such complexity. Now a publication representing Saqqara in 3D will give everyone a vivid tool to accomplish this visualizing.
Elaine Sullivan combines “3D Geographic Information Systems (GIS) visualization technologies with a time-slider to offer a fresh way to consider the necropolis through space and time.” This technique is quite amazing. You feel as if you are walking through the site in each time period. And the buildings can be restored to their original appearance.
Sullivan notes how much richer an experience this provides than the traditional 2D technique does. “Expanding GIS into a third dimension allows us to examine cultural issues in new ways, better replicating the perspective and aspects of the visual and physical experience of a real person walking through a multi-dimensional landscape. By shifting our digital maps from “top-down” to an explicitly human point-of-view, we can consider how cultural symbolism or meaning was embedded within the lived landscape.”
Unfortunately the link “Saqqara in 3D: A New Look at an Ancient Site” has been removed. View my previous Ancient Athens in 3D post and have fun exploring as it would have been experienced.
For posts about the recent Saqqara painted coffins, here and here and an elite tomb.