Image Details

© Regents of the University of California/Courtesy the Digital Karnak Project

SHESHONQ ENTERS THE DIGITAL AGE. This computer-generated, three-dimensional rendering of the Bubastite Portal depicts it as it would have looked in Sheshonq’s day. In the background is the majestic second pylon, or monumental entryway, of the temple of Amun, fronted by a series of towering flagstaffs that would have flown colorful banners.

This reconstruction is part of a completely digital, virtual-reality model of the entire Temple of Karnak complex, called simply “Digital Karnak” and developed by Egyptologists, architects and computer scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles. The fully interactive model (viewable at http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak) allows visitors to manipulate or “fly through” every part of the complex. Visitors can also compare the model’s virtual reconstructions with hundreds of high-resolution images of the Karnak temple as seen today.