AEGARON-Ancient EGyptian ARchitecture ONline: A Repository for Standardized Architectural Information & Drawings

FAIN: HG-50012-09

UCLA; Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA 90024-4201)
Willemina Z. Wendrich (Project Director: October 2008 to November 2013)

The development, in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute Cairo (DAIK), of a digital library of three-dimensional renderings of ancient Egyptian structures based on a variety of existing sources using CAD technology, rendered as image files, and contextualized by metadata.

Comparison of the ancient built environment is often difficult due to different standards used in publications. Correctness, drawing style, as well as the indication of materials, damage, or conjecture differ widely. Other problems are that architectural drawings are presented out of their original natural or urban context, they are sometimes only available in obscure & difficult to find publications, or not published at all. In order to enable cross-disciplinary work, and make the drawings broadly accessible, the central purpose of the project is two-fold: A) provide one visual language by using the same clearly outlined conventions in all drawings; B) provide annotations in the form of extensive metadata, which give factual information and a 'critical apparatus' for visual representations, outlining sources, producers, methods and purposes of the drawings.