Willeke WENDRICH1 | Eiman ELGEWELY2
(1Dept.of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California Los Angeles(UCLA), USA | 2Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University, Egypt)

Keywords: Virtual Heritage, virtual reconstruction, re-contextualization, public outreach

Abstract:
From 1924 to 1934 excavations in the Greco-Roman town of Karanis (present day Kom Aushim) revealed a large mud brick town with several intact neighborhoods, and houses that stood several stories high. Preservation of organic materials in this settlement at the desert edge is very good, which means that we have information not only on the buildings, but also on the wooden doors, the furnishings, tools used in the houses, fields and courtyards, clothing and food remains. In 2004 a team from UCLA restarted work at the site and found that the spectacular mud brick remains had dwindled to a few walls that were in bad condition. Many Egyptian school groups, as well as tourists visit Karanis, but are at a loss when trying to understand the urban fabric of what once was a thriving agricultural town. The Reviving Karanis project started at the Experiential Technologies Center (ETC) of the University of California, Los Angeles. A multi-purpose 3D virtual reality model of selected buildings and courtyards of Karanis town is used for research and public outreach. It allows the examination of the town’s historical, social and urban contexts. The project also includes the re-contextualization of Karanis archeological objects now in various museums in Egypt and the US. Making use of the latest version of the VSim publication platform for 3D VR models, the project aims to raise awareness and interest of the general public towards the historical value of this site and Egyptian antiquities in general. The significance of the “Reviving Karanis” project is that it serves as an information aggregate, as well as a platform for interpretation and educational entertainment.