Puzzling tombs: virtual reconstruction of the Middle Kingdom elite necropolis at Dayr al-Barsha (Middle Egypt)

Abstract

With the interdisciplinary project “Puzzling Tombs,” a team of Egyptologists and engineers of KU Leuven aims to document and reconstruct the architecture and iconography of the Middle Kingdom elite cemetery at Dayr al-Barsha in a virtual environment. Such a tool allows the manipulation of the thousands of tomb fragments, and virtually solve the puzzle they represent. Structured light technology is used to accurately record the fragments, while the remaining standing architecture is documented by terrestrial laser scanning. The resulting 3D meshes are processed on a game engine which allows for coping with the dense polygonal structures that compose the digital models. In combination with this virtual reconstruction, digital epigraphy following the Chicago House method is carried out in the well-known tomb of the Twelfth Dynasty governor Djehutihotep. This detailed documentation will be integrated as an additional layer in the virtual environment.