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The Theban Mapping Project and the Uses of 3D Reconstructions Online
Brad Johnson, Second Story

Since 1978, the Theban Mapping Project, under the direction of Dr. Kent Weeks, has been working to prepare a comprehensive archaeological database of the Valley and the entire Theban Necropolis. With information about nearly every archaeological, geological, and ethnographic feature in the Valley of the Kings, nearly 5,000 photographs and illustrations, over 250 detailed maps, elevations and sections, exhaustive bibliographic resources, articles, glossaries and timelines, the 3D reconstructions in this Web site are more than virtual environments: they are the armature that supports all the representations within the site. Beyond representations themselves, 3D reconstructions of culturally significant structures, spaces and places can be dynamic frameworks that contextualize archeological imagery spatially. Just as an effective timeline and map serve to contextualize collections chronologically and geographically, virtual representations can organize active archeological research, photographs, illustrations, measured drawings, maps and other media according to features and locations within an interactive model. With robust content management tools, an online 3D reconstruction can serve researchers as a repository for active fieldwork, it can serve colleagues as a dynamic publication system, and it can be an interpretive offering for general audiences.

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