Consider yourself an authority on the many ongoing projects to survey and virtually-render famous monuments and heritage sites around the world? In that case, you should score high on the new Virtual Worlds Quiz which weve just launched on Heritage Key ten questions, each pertaining to cutting-edge endeavours to research and/or digitally recreate everything from Egyptian burial chambers to ancient Mayan cities.
Compete now and, as well as bragging rights, you could win a wad of 10 site points. Fear not if you dont know your virtual Qumran from your 3D Forbidden City well give you a sporting chance by recommending some handy sites, programmes and pages on which to do some swotting-up first. Even if you are an expert, remember that only the points from your first go at the quiz count towards your site score, so its worth doing a spot of revision first if you want the full 10/10.
HK VX, Qumran on Your Desktop and French Giza
The Valley of the Kings and Tutankhamuns tomb were the first two ancient world hotspots brought to life on Heritage Key VX, and thus the perfect place to begin your quest for Virtual Worlds Quiz clues. Take a wander through the pixilated Theban landscape and pay close attention to the games you can play there. Next youll need to negotiate a few teleporters and head over first to virtual Stonehenge, followed swiftly by virtual Amarna, where theres oodles more fun to be had, not to mention answers to be found.
Back so soon? Well then get straight on with reading Owens fantastic interview with Dr Robert Cargill, the brains behind Virtual Qumran, where important volumes of a certain ancient world must-read were discovered in caves. After that, find out all about French software company Dassault Systemes part in a fascinating project to render in shiny 3D the entire landscape of ancient Giza. Theyve already made a head start with one particular tall, pointy monument that requires no introduction.
NASA Scanners, the Scottish 10 and the Cities Social Networking Built
This blog containing news of an Edinburgh schools pioneering online museum is your next port of call. Follow it up by discovering how NASA laser scanning technology has allowed a team of researchers to gather unprecedented quantities of data about the lost Mayan city of Caracol. While youre at it, move straight onto Marys wonderfully detailed article about the virtual reconstruction of the Forbidden City in Beijing, which has been funded by a certain major computer and technology manufacturer.
Your next destination is this interview with Historic Scotland director David Mitchell, all about the Scottish 10 teams mission to laser-scan a decade of heritage sites around the world, in their own back garden as well as such far flung locales as the United States of America. Speaking of the US of A, some enterprising technology experts there have pioneered a nifty computer programme already applied to the likes of Rome, Venice and Dubrovnik which can render entire cities simply by gathering information from a certain popular social networking website. Heres the link, you know what to do with it.
Play the Virtual Worlds Quiz and all of our other quizzes by clicking here.