Tempus ViRCult
The primary objective is to enhance Egyptian cultural heritage education by allowing students to explore highly detailed models of sites of historic significance from key periods of Egypt’s history. Exploration of sites is a critical part of learning in a range of cultural heritage courses such as Archaeology and Egyptology, but physical access can be limited for several reasons:
- There is not enough physical space at the sites for the number of students in a class (with some classes having hundreds of students), and/or the ecological sensitivity of the sites prevents large numbers of visitors;
- It is impractical to transport large numbers of students to the various sites of interest, which are distributed across Egypt;
- There may be limitations to the amount of “hands-on” work that is permitted at sites of historical significance;
- Some cultural and personal issues prevent students from undertaking field visits (a notable example is when a female is not permitted by her family to travel).
VirCult will enhance the educational experience for these students by constructing accurate 3D models of the sites which students can explore an interact with. The use of a Virtual Environment allows not only virtual presence and experiential learning, but also the opportunity to augment the experience by linking to online libraries, resources, site plans and media to enrich learning. This project has the potential to produce a new generation of archaeologists with a deeper understanding Egypt’s cultural heritage, which is among the largest and most ancient worldwide.
For more information, please contact Dr. Richard Eastgate.