Category Archives: More

Interested in Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Ancient Mediterranean?

Ever wondered what it was like INSIDE?

Might we suggest Mused.org?

Visit the website and go to all sorts of ancient places virtually. Go INSIDE the Great Pyramid of Giza, several tombs [including King Tut’s] and the Sphinx.

These tours included 360º views and paths through the insides of the tombs and monuments. YES, they work on an iPad!

MusEd.org


Ancient Mediterranean
Spring 2024 Release

50 new spaces and 500+ artifact scans

This has been the product of over a year of work with numerous teachers, technologists, cultural heritage workers, and our unending gratitude goes to each of them. Specifically, the professors and researchers across institutions at the New Alexandria Foundation have helped the various development stages. 

The best place to see the scans is our updated Explore Page, but below are a few highlights. CLICK TO Explore the New Spaces


Tomb of Nefertari: 
https://mused.org/en/tours/923/tomb-of-nefertari-valley-of-the-queens

Tomb of Ramesses V and VI: 
https://mused.org/en/tours/924/tomb-of-ramesses-v-and-vi-valley-of-the-kings

Tomb of Seti I: 
https://mused.org/en/tours/926/tomb-of-seti-i-valley-of-the-kings

The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater), Rome: 
https://mused.org/tours/928/the-colosseum-flavian-amphitheater-rome

Khazneh el-Far’oun, The Treasury, Petra, Jordan: 
https://mused.org/tours/929/khazneh-el-faroun-the-treasury-petra-jordan

The Library of Celsus, Ephesus, Turkey:
https://mused.org/tours/930/the-library-of-celsus-ephesus-turkey

The Acropolis, Athens, Greece: 
https://mused.org/tours/931/the-acropolis-athens-greece

Great Sphinx, Giza, Egypt: 
https://giza.mused.org/en/tours/438/great-sphinx-of-giza

Temple of Apollo, Sounion, Greece: 
https://mused.org/tours/933/the-temple-of-apollo-sounion-greece

And more tours coming soon at spaces such as

  • Abydos,
  • Delphi,
  • Eleusis,
  • Ephesus,
  • Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple,
  • Karnak,
  • Mosque of Mohamed Ali,
  • Medinet Habu,
  • Mycenae,
  • Olympia,
  • the Pantheon,
  • Petra,
  • the Roman Forum,
  • the Valley of the Queens,
  • and the Valley of the Kings.

The spaces will have guided interpretive materials in the future after their Explore modes are public. 

Artifacts

The artifact scans are completed with the various researchers for connecting to the spaces where they originated or to serve as an example of what might have been in a tomb or temple, for example. They’re also available as standalone as the guided interpretative materials are being developed. Here are a few highlights:

Sarcophagus of Seti I, Sir John Soane Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155463/sarcophagus-of-seti-i

Marforio, Oceanus, Capitoline Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155302/marforio-statue-of-oceanus

Gayer Anderson Cat, British Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155263/gayer-anderson-cat

East Pediment of the Parthenon at the British Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155258/east-pediment-of-the-parthenon

East Pediment of the Parthenon, Acropolis Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155114/east-pediment-parthenon

Reconstruction of the East Pediment of the Parthenon, Acropolis Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155103/reconstruction-of-the-east-pediment-on-the-parthenon

Bust of Homer, British Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155236/bust-of-homer

Prince Rahotep and wife Nofret: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155479/statues-of-prince-rahotep-and-wife-nofret

Statue of Thutmose III, Luxor Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155387/statue-of-king-thutmose-iii

Statue of Bull, inscribed by Regalia, Herodes Atticus’s wife, Olympia: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155194/statue-of-bull-inscribed-by-regalia-herodes-atticuss-wife

Bust of Medusa, likely by Bernini, Capitoline Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155297/bust-of-medusa-probably-by-bernini

Statue of Ramesses II, Grand Egyptian Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155360/statue-of-ramesses-ii

Sobek and Amenhotep III, Luxor Museum: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155384/sobek-and-amenhotep-iii

Omphalos, Archaological Museum of Delphi, Greece: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155131/omphalos

Eleusis Plaque of Demeter and Persephone, Archaeological Museum of Eleuis: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155434/eleusis-plaque-of-demeter-and-persephone

Helmet of Militades, Archaeological Museum of Olympia: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155208/helmet-of-militades

Canopic Jars of Tutankhamun, Egyptian Museum in Cairo: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155316/canopic-jars-of-tutankhamun

Statue of Tutankhamun, Egyptian Museum in Cairo: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155349/statue-of-tutankhamun

Statue of Djoser, Egyptian Museum in Cairo: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155344/statue-of-djoser

Monumental Door, Museum of Islamic Art: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155424/monumental-door

Finally, the Belgian Archaeological Expedition Landrover outside the Marsam Hotel near Qurna, Egypt: 
https://mused.org/en/items/155218/belgian-archaeological-expedition-landrover

Radiance Field Rendering and Future Development

In the near future, I’m hoping to clean up this data and process each space into a neural radiance field, displayed via 3D Gaussian Splatting, or something similar. You can see an example of this working in the virtual space tour here: 

https://mused.org/en/tours/860/learn-about-3d-gaussian-splatting

The viewer in its current state where you can view the 360 images is a byproduct of my development in this area rather than the goal. 

Follow Instagram for updates.

Got a Wet iPhone? DO NOT GET THE RICE!

According to Apple, it is NOT a good idea to dry out an iPhone that has gotten dunked in liquid.

Here is what to do instead [taken from a MacWorld article, linked below]:

  1. Tap your iPhone gently against your hand with the connector facing down to remove excess liquid. Leave your iPhone in a dry area with some airflow. 
  2. After at least 30 minutes, try charging with a Lightning or USB-C cable or connecting an accessory.
  3. If you see the alert again, there is still liquid in the connector or under the pins of your cable. Leave your iPhone in a dry area with some airflow for up to a day. You can try again to charge or connect an accessory throughout this period. It might take up to 24 hours to fully dry.
  4. If your phone has dried out but still isn’t charging, unplug the cable from the adapter and unplug the adapter from the wall (if possible) and then connect them again.

Other things NOT to do?

  1. Using a heat source to speed up the drying [like a hair dryer. BAD idea!]
  2. Using compressed air [can cause damage to the components]
  3. Sticking a Q-tip into the charging port to try and dry things out.

WAIT FOR THINGS TO DRY OUT.

While you are waiting, MDS Tech suggests you go outside and notice the trees and bids…. and perhaps go spend some quality time with your family, sans devices.

Sources:

  1. Macworld Article: https://www.macworld.com/article/2239742/iphone-liquid-damage-dry-rice.html
  2. Apple Support notes: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102643

Notability; TAPE tool

TAPE!

This is a tool that can help you learn from your notes. USe the tape tool to cover over the notes – see if you remember the material, and then tap to reveal the hidden areas.

CLICK HERE to read more, and view a video that demonstrates it.

Here is how to add Tape

  1. Select right arrow in toolbar.png to expand the toolbox and then select tape.png.
    • Choose from three different sizes of tape. 
  2. Draw, as you typically would, over any note content that you’d like to hide and Tape will cover it.
    • When drawing vertically, hold to make a straight line first and then draw.
  3. Tap on tape to reveal the content.
    • A colored border will appear around the revealed area. Tap inside the outline to re-cover with tape.

Remove Tape

  • Erase with Full Eraser to remove Tape from the area completely.