Sunday, October 01, 2023

Inside the Tombs & Pyramids of Egypt

Ramesses I was the founding pharaoh of ancient Egypt's 19th Dynasty. Ramesses burial tomb was rediscovered in the Valley of the Kings by Giovanni Belzoni in October 1817. The tomb is decorated with the Book of Gates. The Book of Gates tells the story of how a newly deceased soul travels into the next world by passing through a series of 'gates'. It is believed that the depiction of this journey was placed in tombs in order to help the deceased soul navigate through the afterlife.

You can learn more about the Book of Gates in Mused's virtual tour of The Tomb of Ramesses I. The tour explains who Ramesses I was and guides you through the amazing scenes from the Book of Gates which adorn the walls of the tomb. Using custom created 'Street View' panoramas the funerary text of the Book of Gates is retold through a narrated guide of the tomb's decorated walls. Following the tour you can follow the journey that Ramesses I's soul hoped to take into the next life.

If you select the 'Free Explore' button at the start of the tour then you can explore the tomb of Ramesses I for yourself without the narrated guide. Just click on the circles to move around the tomb and pan around and zoom in and out to view the decorated walls in more detail. 

If you register with Mused you can experience many more guided virtual tours of important archaeological sites in Egypt, including the tombs of Tutankhamun, Ramesses II, and Queen Meresankh III.

Mused's Inside the Great Pyramid of Giza is an amazing virtual 'Street View' tour of the normally closed inner chambers of the Khufu Pyramid in Egypt. This guided tour allows you to explore the interior three chambers of the pyramid, including the King's Chamber, the Queen's Chamber and the subterranean chamber, which is cut into and decends into the bedrock below the pyramid itself. 

The Khufu Pyramid or Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of the Egyptian pyramids and is the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu, who died in 2566 BC.The Great Pyramid was the world's tallest building for more than 3,800 years. Very few people are allowed inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. Today you can be one of them. 

The tour enters the pyramid via a robber's tunnel believed to date back to 820 BC. At the entrance of this tunnel you have two choices. You can either take the Guided Tour or use the Free Explore option. The guided tour uses custom made 360 degree panoramic 'Street View' imagery to lead you inside the pyramid and into the three chambers. This guided tour includes contextual annotations which explain what you are seeing during the tour. 

The 'Free Explore' option allows you to enter and explore the pyramid alone. In this mode you are left to your own devices to use the navigation circles added to the panoramic imagery to virtually explore inside the Great Pyramid.

Of course Egypt isn't the only country with ancient pyramids. If you travel south down the River Nile through Egypt to Sudan, just before you get to Khartoum you will come to Meroë, the ancient capital of the Kushite Kingdom. Here you will discover an ancient city which is home to more than 200 pyramids.

Google Arts and Culture's Pyramids of Meroë is a fascinating virtual tour of the Nubian pyramids located in the Sudanese desert. The Pyramids of Meroë were constructed in the Kingdom of Kush during the Meroitic period (542 BC–4th century AD).

As you scroll through the Pyramids of Meroë you are taken on a virtual tour of a 3D model of the pyramid of King Arkamani the First. This tour explains how these distinctly steep sided structures were built over 2,500 years ago. Keep scrolling and you can dive inside the pyramid, explore the hieroglyphs on the Offering Chapel's walls and view a 3D illustration of the pyramid's underground tomb. 

After exploring the 3D model of King Arkamani the First's pyramid you can explore Meroë for yourself using Google Maps Street View. This Street View tour includes interactive panoramic images of the partially buried pyramid of King Kalka Kaltaly, the pyramid of Queen Amanitore and the pyramid of King Adeqetali.

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