Narrative Section and Design Document of

a Successful Application
The attached document contains the grant narrative and design document of a previously
funded grant application. It is not intended to serve as a model, but to give you a sense of how a
successful application may be crafted. Every successful application is different, and each
applicant is urged to prepare a proposal that reflects its unique project and aspirations.
Prospective applicants should consult the Public Programs application guidelines at
http://www.neh.gov/grants/public/digital-projects-the-public for instructions. Applicants are
also strongly encouraged to consult with the NEH Division of Public Programs staff well before a
grant deadline.

Note: The attachment only contains the grant narrative and design document, not the entire
funded application. In addition, certain portions may have been redacted to protect the privacy
interests of an individual and/or to protect confidential commercial and financial information
and/or to protect copyrighted materials.

Project Title: Digital Giza: A New Portal to the Pyramids

Institution: President and Fellows of Harvard College

Project Director: Peter Der Manuelian

Grant Program: Digital Projects for the Public: Prototyping Grants

1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Rm. 426, Washington, D.C. 20506 P 202.606.8269 F 202.606.8557 E [email protected] www.neh.gov
Section 2: Application Narrative Digital Giza: A New Portal to the Pyramids

Digital Giza: A New Portal to the Pyramids

A) Nature of the request:

The objective of this Digital Projects for the Public (DPP) Prototyping Grant is the creation of a scale-
version prototype of the Giza Project’s forthcoming public website—Digital Giza: A Portal to the
Pyramids (Digital Giza, for short). Using the tools of the future to study the past, this public resource will
integrate diverse, primary documentation from over 100 years of international archaeological research
with the most archaeologically accurate 3D immersive computer model to date of the entire Giza Plateau,
including the pyramids, temples, settlements, and surrounding cemeteries. The result will be a powerful
new online education and research tool for the world community at all levels of expertise. After we cross-
link the most comprehensive collection of Giza archival material in a powerful relational database that is
structured specifically for site-oriented data, we will combine it with a sophisticated virtual online
interface that is both educational and inviting. Fashioned on the concepts of heuristic, inquiry-based and
free-choice learning, Digital Giza will provide users with access to rich archaeological data (photos,
diaries, drawings, etc.) previously reserved only for scholars. Through varied formats of “digital
archaeology experiences”—some narrative-driven and others free-form—visitors to the site will engage
with new forms of interpretation and story-telling based on Giza materials digitally embedded and clearly
contextualized in their original spatial settings within the 3D model. The Giza Project’s ultimate
deliverable will be disseminated in an online format that can reach the broadest possible audience: an
interactive website and virtual environment encouraging exploration into Egyptological, historical, and
more general humanities themes (see below, Section B).
The Giza Project, a collaborative international initiative based at Harvard University, has as its
ultimate goals the comprehensive collection, electronic preservation, scholarly study, and public
presentation of data on the world’s most famous archaeological site: the Giza Pyramids of Egypt and their
surrounding cemeteries and settlements (3rd millennium BCE to present). Building upon fifteen years of
academic data processing and integration at Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the
Project has now reached a maturity where exciting new forms of outreach and education are possible. We
plan to provide unprecedented access to Giza in ways unavailable even at the physical site in Egypt today,
through an innovative blend of traditional and new approaches to digital archaeology and data
management. As gauged by research and granting trends of the last decade or so, the most recent era of
archival and heritage activity has prioritized for two objectives: preservation and access &
democratization of resources; that is, digitization of archival collections for long-term preservation, and
making archival collections accessible to the many, not just a specialized few. Consistent with the Giza
Project’s mission and the current evolution of graphical/“virtual” visualizations of information, we
believe that the next steps will require using and crafting experiences around this readily available and
often voluminous material. Access is only one part of the equation, since often such sources are
specialized in content and unwieldy in quantity. Digital Giza: A New Portal to the Pyramids is the Giza
Project’s solution for the other half of this equation, bringing together the two pursuits in which it has
excelled—archaeological information management & dissemination and archaeologically accurate
graphic visualization. We respectfully request a one-year, $100,000 NEH Digital Projects for the Public
Prototyping Grant to build on the achievements of past work and present one of the world’s richest
archaeological legacies to the global community. It is our belief that the compelling scope of this Project,
covering nearly 5,000 years in the life of a world heritage site, with its great humanities and outreach
potential, serves to qualify it for NEH support.

B) Humanities content:
Humanities Ideas, Themes, and Scholarship:
In the current global environment, in which disparate societies and cultures are becoming ever
more closely interlinked, it is critically important to foster knowledge of world history and the great
civilizations of the past upon which numerous fundamental structures of modern life are built. An
appreciation of the innovations, events, and peoples of the past that have contributed to shaping

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contemporary society can help us understand the world in which we live and thus become better world
citizens. Inspiring Americans to connect with history is a challenge that needs to be addressed in new and
innovative ways. Ancient Egypt’s widespread, nearly universal appeal makes it extremely well suited as a
focus for humanities exploration and education. In fashioning a new kind of digital media asset for the
global public, the Giza Project is dedicated to three significant humanities themes, which manifest
themselves throughout our work:
1) Ancient Egyptian history, art, and society come alive when we explore how archaeology
highlights Egypt’s enduring contributions to world cultural heritage. We aim to bring ancient Egypt
to life for the modern public, based on the rich legacy of Egyptian material culture at Giza. The ancient
Egyptians are widely perceived as a people preoccupied with death. This modern conception results
largely from the extensive resources the Egyptians devoted to preparation for death and expectations of an
afterlife, combined with the disproportionately good preservation of mortuary sites as compared to the
poor preservation of “living spaces” (dwellings, settlements, etc.). Surviving architecture, inscriptions,
and artifacts from Giza provide tangible remnants of the ways of life (and sometimes even the names and
biographies) of the ancient Egyptians, allowing modern audiences to understand that they share many of
the same dreams, goals, and fears with their ancient forebears. A more thorough and nuanced
consideration of these primary sources (monuments, texts, objects) reveals that, even within the country’s
most famous cemetery (Giza), the ancient Egyptians produced a vibrant, accomplished, and ultimately
life-affirming culture whose heritage is still a source of fascination, relevance, and debate today.
2) How can we engage effectively with the past? Today, digital archaeology provides an
important path to enriching our interpretation of ancient Egypt, or indeed any early civilization.
We plan to highlight the benefits of digital archaeology as a new learning forum, not solely for scholars,
but for the participation of everyone equipped with a web browser and an interest in ancient peoples,
history, or human heritage in general. Archaeology and the writing of ancient history are inherently
reconstructive processes, usually from incomplete records. An interactive approach to digital archaeology
opens access for all to primary documentary materials as well as the process of historical/archaeological
reconstruction. Engaging with the distant past allows the modern user to learn about shared aspects of the
human condition, and reveal the relevance of history to the current world. Through both cutting-edge and
well-established technologies of visualization, experiential learning (providing the user with choices in a
virtual environment), and information management, we aim to provide all those who have curiosity and
internet access with the tools and guidance to venture down their own paths of historical exploration,
regardless of interest level or background knowledge. We hope to instill an appreciation for not only
ancient (Egyptian) culture specifically, but also more broadly for the very practice of historical
investigation itself.
3) Combining the traditional study of Egypt’s past with digital archaeology preserves and
presents its cultural heritage for future generations. Giza represents a powerful expression of the
ancient Egyptians’ quest for immortality. Their cultural memory is embodied in tombs, temples, texts,
scenes, and artifacts, all intended to survive long past the death of the individual. Today, we pursue the
preservation, interpretation, and transmission of ancient Egyptian culture and wisdom for the enrichment
of generations to come. Giza is thus not merely the remnant of a particular point in history, but a complex
testament to how both ancient and modern societies confront two of the most fundamental, existential
questions about the human condition: What is our “place” in the world, as individuals and collectives?
And what happens when we die – what are our expectations, for our own legacies as individuals and for
the society we leave behind?
The ancient media the Egyptians used often consisted of limestone and hieroglyphs. By
converting these material manifestations to electronic form for the modern era and creating unprecedented
global access, we hope to fulfill the essential task of heritage preservation and dissemination. Our
audience will learn, not just about how the ancient Egyptians died, but about how they lived and, more
importantly, what they valued and how they wished to be remembered.
We believe the multi-channeled approach of Digital Giza will provide a model for archaeological
information presentation and management, applicable beyond Giza, beyond Egypt, to any number of sites

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and eras around the world. In this sense, the Giza humanities themes are also universal themes that can
speak—via primary evidence made accessible by the Giza Project—to concepts of nostalgia, revivals and
uses of the past, including nationalist and Afrocentrist approaches to ancient Egyptian culture. Many of
these fields have yet to be explored via such new information pathways.

Comparable Projects:
There are currently numerous Egyptological websites that include photo documentation, plans,
and bibliography on individual tombs and monuments, such as Osiris Net (http://www.osirisnet.net/) or
the Theban Mapping Project (http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/), and databases that enable users to
explore archaeological and/or art historical materials as sorted by a range of search parameters, such as
Oxford’s Egyptian Scene-details Database
(http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/oee_ahrc_2006/). Other projects have created websites
to publicize their research on individual ancient Egyptian sites. The websites of Leiden University’s
expedition to Saqqara (http://www.saqqara.nl) and the University of Cambridge excavation at Amarna
(http://www.amarnaproject.com/) contain much useful information on current work at these sites;
similarly, the Ancient Egyptian Research Associates (AERA) website (http://www.aeraweb.org/) contains
data from active research and excavation carried out at part of the Giza Plateau. Like the Giza Project,
these are site-specific projects whose websites make available photographs, descriptions, maps, and site
reports to an online audience. However, they tend to be much narrower in scope: mainly devices for
communicating progress and fund-raising. They are neither interactive nor dynamically searchable by the
user, and usually only cover in detail the area(s) of the sites that are currently under investigation,
providing little access to primary data or publications from previous or concurrent excavations by other
institutions.
A few other Egyptological projects have focused on constructing 3D virtual models of individual
ancient monuments and/or artifacts, such as the Polish Jagiellonian University archaeological mission’s
Tell el-Farkha site reconstructions (http://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,403626,poles-
reconstructed-houses-of-the-first-egyptians.html and
http://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,396547,one-of-the-worlds-oldest-breweries-
reconstructed.html), the great temple complex of Karnak by UCLA’s Digital Karnak
(http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/), or some houses at the Manchester Museum’s Virtual Kahun
(http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/collection/ancientegypt/virtualkahun/gallery/). Though these sites
have generated some interesting experimental digital work (for one recent example using the Digital
Karnak model, see http://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/Sullivan.pdf), they generally lack connections to
data, archival information, and previous scholarship that add meaning and context for the models, as well
as transparency in explaining the choices their creators have made in the modeling process. The
AMARNA: 3D Project (http://www.amarna3d.com/) contains some useful functionalities (such as a
Google Streetview-style navigational tool that will be incorporated into the new Giza site as well), but
does not contain any of the actual excavation data on which the 3D model was based. The original data is
a verification source that is important for specialists and amateurs alike.
The ultimate vision for the Giza Project at Harvard University includes facets of all of these
projects and more. Digital Giza aims to facilitate widespread access to both archival and current data by
allowing users to approach them in multiple ways according to their particular interests and inclinations,
including the exploration of archaeologically accurate 3D models on both a micro (single artifacts,
individual tombs) and macro (Plateau overview site model, incorporating GIS and digital elevation
models) scale. All of these approaches will be intelligently and dynamically linked to a fully searchable
dataset of unparalleled breadth and depth. Some projects digitize archival material; others recreate ancient
monuments in computer renderings. The Giza Project is one of extremely few to blend both approaches
for comprehensive access to the site and its artifacts from almost any starting point of inquiry—visual or
textual, amateur or expert. Guided narrative pathways called “Gateways to Giza” will introduce this
treasure trove of data to novice users while providing them with the tools to follow their own interests and
explore further on their own.

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Resources:
The most important resources of the Giza Project are the massive and comprehensive digitized
archival data holdings currently housed in the Project’s GizaCARD (Consolidated Archaeological
Reference Database), an NEH-funded endeavor (ID number PW-51569-14) that forms the underpinnings
of the new website. We have assembled electronic archival datasets through collaborative agreements
around the globe, focusing mainly (but not exclusively) on collections from fifteen international
institutions in nine cities: the Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Berkeley, CA; the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston; the Ägyptisches Museum & Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin; the
Egyptian Museum & (forthcoming) Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo; the Peabody Museum of
Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University; the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum & Stadtarchiv,
Hildesheim; the Ägyptisches Museum, Universität Leipzig; the University of Pennsylvania Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia; the Museo Egizio & Ministero per i Beni e le Attività
Culturali, Turin; and the Kunsthistorisches Museum & Ägyptologisches Institut der Universität, both in
Vienna. Their pooled data at Harvard collectively represent the largest self-contained collection of Giza
archival and documented artifactual materials ever compiled, all in electronic form. Through
consolidation and standardized processing by the Giza Project this substantial volume of scattered records
will become publicly available, not merely as discrete collections—as physical archives are, inherently—
but as a vastly larger, complex array of interrelated information that reflects Giza’s overall significance.
From the collaborating institutions listed above, the Giza Project holds in its database
photographs (showing field excavations, old and recent site shots, artifacts, and museum gallery and
storage views), field diaries, object/photo register books, architectural and site plans, facsimile line
drawings, researcher notes, correspondence and un/published manuscripts, as well as other types of
documents. They total approximately 170,000 files, occupying 1 TB of storage space. In anticipation of
the continued mainstreaming of 3D-modeling and printing, a future phase of database expansion is
planned to integrate three-dimensional modeling assets generated by the Project’s digital artists.
Thereafter, public crowd sourcing of new models will also be explored. Currently the Giza Project’s 3D
modeling assets total approximately 300 primary models and an additional 1,500 derivatives, as well as
approximately 2,000 supplementary (2D) files used in modeling processes and output, accounting for an
additional 1.2 TB of stored files. These files combine to allow not only real-time navigation across the
entire Giza Plateau, but also immersive first-person exploration of interiors and exteriors of the following
major Giza monuments: Khufu Pyramid Complex, Khufu Pyramid Temple, Khufu Valley Temple,
Khafre Pyramid Complex, Khafre Pyramid Temple, Khafre Valley Temple, the Sphinx, Sphinx Temple,
Menkaure Pyramid Complex, Menkaure Pyramid Temple, Menkaure Valley Temple, Menkaure Valley
Temple Settlement, Tomb of Queen Hetepheres, Mastaba Tomb of Queen Meresankh III, 3-Tomb Family
Complex G 2100, Mastaba Tomb of Nefer, Mastaba Tomb of Kaninisut, Mastaba Tombs of Qar and Idu,
and Harvard Camp (i.e., twentieth-century archaeological expedition headquarters).

C) Project format:
Digital Giza will be a powerful web-based tool that will place the entirety of the Giza Project’s
holdings within easy reach of anyone with an Internet connection. The website is conceived and designed
to serve as an engaging educational resource and research apparatus for as wide a public audience as
possible, ranging from age 12 to senior citizen. By adopting this outlook, we take on the unique challenge
of creating an asset that can function effectively as “all things to all people” within these broad
parameters. Given the vast quantity of information that will be accessible through Digital Giza, there is a
potential for “data overload” for casual users. Anticipating this, the project will design a simple, front-
facing interface with specially conceived access points, or “Portals” from Digital Giza’s homepage
connected to multiple clearly-defined paths to support non specialists as they ease into the extensive
content. The five Portals are (see Design Document for more detail):

 INTRODUCTION TO GIZA: Ancient Giza and its archaeology in historical context

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 GATEWAYS TO GIZA: Video vignettes produced from 3D Giza models with embedded
interactive features, including user-generated choices of topical concentration and responsive,
game-like content that incorporates diverse types of Giza data (both 2D and 3D). These will
include first- and third-person narrative story-telling frames.
 VIRTUAL GIZA: User-driven, real-time navigation of the entire 3D Giza model environment as
well as more detailed immersive exploration within Giza’s major monuments, interspersed with
content and cross-over connectivity to database holdings.
 GIZA MAPS: Spatial selection and searching of Giza monuments and areas of interest via a
familiar interface reminiscent of Google Maps, including plan view, satellite/aerial view, and 3D
top view.
 SEARCH GIZA: Simple and advanced searches of the Giza Consolidated Archaeological
Reference Database (GizaCARD), which houses all available records and media held by the Giza
Project, making it the most comprehensive Giza database in the world.

Conceptually these entry routes are differentiated by two main factors: expectations of user needs and
nature of initial user interface. We stress “initial” user experience because, once past an entry Portal,
users’ own activities will dictate crossover between different site sections via paths that gradually
introduce more types and quantities of information. This multi-portal approach not only ensures that new
users will have options for guiding them towards information and encounters that suit their interests, but
also that return visitors may go immediately to the pathway or search options of their choosing. For
instance, where an eighth-grade student may wish to enter into Virtual Giza to continue his or her
explorations, a researcher may prefer to go directly to the extremely robust database search tools within
Search Giza.

Other major facets of Digital Giza, accessed not via Portals but instead through persistent drop-down
menus, include:
 The Digital Giza Library: a continually growing bibliography of freely downloadable, copyright-
cleared searchable books and articles about Giza in PDF format, many of which are linked to
database holdings and the Virtual Giza monuments discussed within their pages. We previously
made 547 such publications available through our original, MFA-hosted Giza Archives Project
website (www.gizapyramids.org); about 100 additional items are ready to be newly released as
part of Digital Giza, and our preparation pipeline numbers over 100 more.
 Giza News and Blog: the “command center” for communications by which users will keep up
with new additions/expansions of Giza content and functionality, as well as other items of general
interest via regular blog posts and our social media presence (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest).
They will have the added ability to post any Digital Giza media (except “live” 3D models) to
their own social networking accounts via embedded posting functions included on every data
record page.
 My Giza: users who create a (free) login profile will be able to save all types of Giza data in
personalized “My Giza Collections,” which will aid in organizing research materials and can be
shared with friends, colleagues, and classmates via social media sites.
 Educational Resources: links to other carefully vetted sites with educational content on Giza—
e.g., EDSITEment (http://edsitement.neh.gov/); the British Museum Ancient Egypt Page
(http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html); and eventually EdX/HarvardX online courses
(http://www.edx.org/; http://harvardx.harvard.edu/modules-and-courses).

A public website format enables the Giza Project to provide free access to its vast holdings on a
worldwide scale. A web-based approach permits the construction of multiple, intersecting paths to
accommodate the variety of user needs that such a large public audience demands. The structure of
Digital Giza (see Section 7, figure 1, Site Map; and Section 8, Design Document) is based on notions of
heuristic and self-guided, inquiry-based learning about ancient Egypt, rather than linear, didactic

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instruction. The access Portals described above will guide different types of users into Digital Giza in
such a way that, no matter the sequence of clicks, they will encounter archaeological information in a
manner that is, essentially, “doing digital archaeology,” that is, exploring the site onscreen instead of
standing in an excavation pit. Some users will come to Digital Giza with questions, embarking on their
journey via a simple search; others will be guided through narrative “Gateways to Giza” to explore what
interests them. Some will branch from our simple Introduction to Giza material to data records that
springboard them onwards to further inquiry; and still others will find themselves captivated by the ability
to sift through pictures and diaries of excavations of the very room in which they are standing within
Virtual Giza. Through their exposure to all these diverse Giza data types and media, Digital Giza users
will explore the many ways that the past, present, and future of ancient Egyptian heritage are connected.
Every path through the Digital Giza website will expose visitors to as many types of media
resources and encounters as possible. Additionally, the ability to post annotated material directly to social
media and educational outlets supports reflection and analysis, giving all users the ability to amplify their
own engagement with history.

D) Audience and distribution:

Digital Giza will make available numerous customizable and self-defined paths for exploration of
the entire Giza necropolis. Providing access at all different levels of interest and knowledge to a wide-
ranging audience of users is our grand vision and long-term focus. For the general public, the virtual 3D
model will provide views of the entire Giza Plateau in a new experiential environment. The guided
“Gateways to Giza” will contain overviews of some of the humanities themes addressed within the
archaeology and history of Giza. Users will even be able to view the site from positions no human could
physically attain: for instance, from underground, allowing for visualization of the relative positions and
sizes (and thus social hierarchies) of countless burial shafts extending beneath the individual tombs. It
will also offer access to portions of the site that are closed to visitors, reburied, deteriorated since
excavation, or otherwise inaccessible. “Edu-tourism” takes on entirely new possibilities with this merging
of old data and new immersive navigation technology. The results hold value for everyone: those who
have visited Giza, those who anticipate doing so, and those who will never have the chance to see the site
in person.
The Digital Giza website will facilitate the efforts of K-16 teachers and students. We will reach
out to editors of middle-school magazines such as Dig and Muse published by Cricketmedia; to involve
teachers we will disseminate to the National Council for the Social Studies (http://www.socialstudies.org)
and the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies (http://www.masscouncil.org). On the new website
itself, individual “Spotlight Giza” object and media highlights and periodic blog entries will feature
various Giza-related topics to stimulate class discussion. Gateways to Giza will make excellent starting
points for class exploration into some of the larger questions about ancient Egyptian culture and history,
and how they are studied and interpreted today. Descriptive Egyptological thesaurus terminology will
allow students and other users to search through tens of thousands of modern and archival photographs in
order to identify and collect different types of content across hundreds of tombs bearing important wall
paintings and reliefs (historical events, craftsmanship, ritual, gender-based activities, flora and fauna, pose
and costume, hieroglyphic inscription genres, etc.). Constituent records will contain information on
ancient Egyptians as well as modern-era individuals connected to Giza, along with all their associated
data.
Users who create a (free) login profile will be able to save all types of data in their own “My
Giza” study collections that may be shared with classmates and friends. The ability to group and save
publications, objects, images, and other types of documents according to individual interests and
applications will allow teachers to create customized lessons and design assignments, while enabling
students to gather materials for reports and presentations. Starter “My Giza” collections will be available
to complement other sources and act as additional points of departure. Their assembly will be based on
broad general interest topics, such as Experiencing the Past (e.g., Daily Life, Growing Up at Giza,
Ancient Egyptian Religion, Environmental Impacts, Ancient Families, Crafts & Professions); Museums

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& Collections (Collection-building through History, Heritage and Repatriation); Photographic

Perspectives (Early Photography, Modern Life on the Nile, Aerial Photography, Excavators in Egypt);
etc. Additionally, links to the NEH EDSITEment site will convey related educational content along with
recommended sequences for introducing material common to various grade levels.
In the course of their exploration, scholars must often collect all the disparate materials available
for a given object or archaeological feature. To take one example, for an ancient statue the website will
provide original discovery in-situ photos, modern color studio imagery (from the institution that currently
houses the statue), diary entries describing its discovery, architectural plans of the findspot and
archaeological context, as well as both published and unpublished secondary literature, even though all
these archival data may be physically housed in separate institutions on different continents!
Optimal worldwide availability and long-term sustainability are core objectives of the Giza
Project’s work. Dissemination of the deliverables produced during the grant period will take several
forms, as we focus on reaching audiences from primary and secondary school students to professional
Egyptologists and all interested parties in between. For the new Giza website, the addition of embedded
social networking functionality will be a significant, consistent driver of traffic and first-time visitors. The
Giza Project aims to harness the powerful influences of online social media (e.g. Facebook, Google+,
Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) to disseminate information “virally” to audiences more widely than possible
through a single online venue, and to take advantage of their potential for generating site awareness and
traffic. Media files accessed via the Giza site will be accompanied by social networking icons through
which users can post them directly to their accounts on relevant social websites, organically opening
countless new outlets for appreciation of the project’s holdings.
Ultimately, we foresee Digital Giza being made available through one or more mobile apps as
well as immersive interface devices, such as home-use virtual reality headsets. In the future we intend to
explore augmented reality solutions, so that visitors to Giza can point their smart devices’ cameras at a
hill of sand or debris and see the original excavation and discovery photos for that space and the artifacts
it once revealed, complemented by a 3D reconstruction of those archaeological remains. For online and
home use, the media team remains current with available peripheral hardware in order to extend fully
immersive capabilities to the widest possible user base. The most recent progress has been to view and
test the Giza model using the Oculus Rift (www.oculusvr.com) and Samsung Gear VR
(www.samsung.com/global/microsite/gearvr) 3D virtual reality headsets, relatively low-cost but powerful
immersive interface devices.
We expect to “loan” our Giza 3D content to a wide range of special museum exhibitions with
themes such as archaeology, pyramids, ancient technology, 3D modeling, cultural patrimony/repatriation,
etc. Our graphic content has already appeared in exhibits at the Oriental Institute Museum of the
University of Chicago, the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim, the Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna, and the Semitic Museum at Harvard University. We hope it will eventually be on view in the new
Grand Egyptian Museum, to be located just north of the Giza Plateau, scheduled to open in the next
several years. These exhibits will provide broad exposure of our work to the museum-going public at
venues all around the world. Closer to home, the content will feed into the PI’s regular Egyptology
classes, and in semester-long courses and smaller educational “modules” in HarvardX and EdX, the new
online teaching initiatives currently under development (www.edx.org) by a growing consortium of
universities. These online courses have the potential to reach tens of thousands of students at a time.
Edu-tourism is also a powerful dissemination tool. For those planning travel to Egypt, the future
Giza website will provide an exemplary introductory orientation, even allowing digital access to parts of
the site that are not routinely open to tourists. The political instability and security troubles that have
gripped Egypt since the January 2011 revolution, and which have led to widespread looting and
destruction of archaeological sites, museums, and storage facilities throughout the country, serve to
highlight the current critical importance of the Giza Project’s work. The irreplaceable data consolidated in
our archaeological archives and made available to the global public on our website constitute a form of
digital preservation in a tumultuous period when physical, “on the ground” conservation and visitation of
monuments may not always be possible.

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The Giza Project also continues to participate in the wider Egyptological and academic
communities. The PI has a forthcoming book on “Digital Giza” with Harvard University Press (Metalab
Projects Series), a historical description of the entire Project from its inception in 2000 to the present, as
an example of a groundbreaking Digital Humanities initiative. The PI and Giza staff will continue to
contribute scholarly articles based on Giza Project research to Egyptological publications, and popular
articles to Egyptian archaeology-themed magazines with wide readerships such as KMT (US), Egyptian
Archaeology (UK), Ancient Egypt (UK), Dossiers d’Archéologie (France), and Sokar (Germany). We
will share links with all the major Egyptological blogs and websites. Finally, we will also present our
results in both popular lectures and scholarly conferences, among them the national and local meetings of
the American Research Center in Egypt, the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental
Research, and the International Congress of Egyptologists, as well as at technology conferences such as
South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Digital Heritage International Congress in Marseille (where the PI
presented a Giza Project keynote speech in late October 2013). In addition to numerous lectures and
discussions at Harvard and in the greater Boston area, the NEH has asked the PI to speak about the
Project’s progress at the upcoming annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (Jan. 6-9,
2016 in San Francisco).

E) Project evaluation and testing:

This project includes two evaluation phases, one formative phase at the outset of the grant period and
one to test the prototype as it nears completion. For both we will collaborate with staff of the Harvard
Museums of Science & Culture (HMSC). For their regular slate of exhibition, educational, and online
activities HMSC’s interpretive and educational staffs test approaches for presenting collections and
concepts to diverse public audiences. HMSC relies heavily on focus group feedback to productive ends,
with members drawn widely from the museum-going public who have a tradition of responding
enthusiastically to calls to assist. Formative Phase: The project will engage focus groups of teachers,
sixth graders, and interested adult non specialists to identify question types most frequently posed about
website content. Focus group members will be recruited from HMSC’s network of members (900),
visitors (250,000), and school group visitors (42,000). We will take special note of searching trends to
identify questions that we had not previously considered as we build the Digital Giza prototype. This
research will guide our construction of the Digital Giza website layout.
A one-month Test Phase is scheduled for October 2016 and will use a combination of individual
observation, interviews, and back-end analytics techniques to test our website. We will call upon the
HMSC’s public network once again for recruitment. In addition to other venues, we anticipate tying a
testing event to Harvard’s annual Amazing Archaeology Day 2016. This event takes place across two
venues on the Harvard campus in conjunction with Archaeology Month for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, drawing an average of 500–600 attendees. Walk-in participants will be invited to access
Digital Giza, and to provide their impressions of usability. Refined user questions will be piloted in order
to revise the pathways developed for portals. We will post Google analytics code to track back-end
metrics about most/least used/revisited sections of the site. To expand the range of participants, and to
continue the collection of site use metrics through the months of October–November, one or more walk-in
stations will be made available in the Harvard Semitic Museum, the HMSC institution that is most closely
aligned with the Giza Project. Use by university students will also be evaluated, with testers drawn from
the PI’s undergraduate, graduate, and Harvard Extension School classes, plus students from classes at as
many other local and national universities as possible.
These varied audiences will bring differing perspectives and interests as well as levels of
expertise and knowledge, allowing Giza Project staff to make further adjustments and enhancements so as
to increase the website’s impact and outreach. Revision based on feedback will proceed through the end
of the grant period in December 2016, along with any necessary troubleshooting and debugging.
Submission and revisions to the Harvard Internal Review Board for the protection of human subjects will
also be made throughout the testing process wherever appropriate.

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F) Rights, permissions, and licensing:

The Giza Project is primarily based on the archaeological legacy of expeditions from the first half
of the 20th century. The site of Giza was divided into three main concession areas, awarded to American,
German, and Italian missions. In subsequent years, the American mission took over the Italian concession
and the German expedition expanded under German–Austrian sponsorship. Later, an Egyptian mission
joined the others. Our processing work involves the results of all of these expeditions, as well as several
additional smaller ones. All expeditions divided their finds between their sponsoring institution(s) and the
Egyptian Museum, Cairo. American-excavated tomb materials and documentation reside in Berkeley,
Boston, Cambridge, and Philadelphia; German/Austrian materials are in Berlin, Hildesheim, Leipzig, and
Vienna. Italian materials are in Turin.
The original excavation archival data from the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Expedition was slated as per a 1905 agreement to come to Harvard, along with the rights of publication.
In actuality, the archive landed primarily at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1947. From 2000 to
2011, most of the Giza material was digitized and processed for inclusion in the Giza Archives Project
website (www.gizapyramids.org). Harvard and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, are moving forward
with a signed collaboration agreement (attached), providing free access to the Giza data housed at the
MFA. The Giza Project’s other national and international partners have also signed collaboration
agreements with the Project, granting permission to process and make publicly available their Giza data,
which have already been received in electronic format and incorporated into the Project’s GizaCARD
database. All copyrights remain with these original institutions (for their signed collaboration agreements,
see section 4). Therefore, we do not anticipate any significant permissions problems or licensing fees.

G) Humanities advisers:
Made up of Egyptologists and archaeological technical specialists, the Giza staff members have
the academic backgrounds to determine the organizational structure for the work, the academic content of
the data, and which features to emphasize online for different audience levels. For critical assessment and
suggestions for our deliverables, we will turn to an external humanities advisory board.

Project Management, Content, and Outreach

Principal Investigator: Peter Der Manuelian, Philip J. King Professor of Egyptology and Giza
Project Director, Harvard University. Role: Supervisor of all aspects of the Project; decisions on
Egyptological data organization; overall website design and implementation; relations with international
Giza partners in Egypt and Europe; responsible for hiring and managing Project Egyptology/technology
part-time staff, supervising university students, and fundraising. Project continuity directing the work
since its inception in 2000 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Project Research Associate: Nicholas Picardo, Ph.D. candidate in Egyptology (University of
Pennsylvania), Archaeologist. Role: TMS Giza data entry and integrity, verifications and corrections;
concordance work on Harvard–MFA Expedition materials and European Giza collections; Giza website
design; supervision of students and volunteers. Academic and archival research for processing
international archival records and 3D model construction. Continuity expertise with the Project since
2009.
Project Research Associate: Rachel Aronin, Ph.D. candidate in Egyptology (University of
Pennsylvania), Art Historian. Role: TMS Giza data entry and integrity, verifications and corrections;
concordance work on Harvard–MFA Expedition materials and European Giza collections; Giza website
design; supervision of students and volunteers. Academic and archival research for processing
international archival records and 3D model construction. Continuity expertise with the Project since
2008.
Project Research Assistant: Jeremy Kisala, BA in Egyptology (University of Chicago). Role:
TMS Giza data entry and integrity; supervision of Giza Digital Library PDF processing workflow;
supervision of students and volunteers. Continuity expertise with the Project since 2006.

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Humanities Advisory Board

W. Judson Harward, Director of Arts and Humanities Research Computing, Harvard University
Information Technology. With a background in archaeology, digital humanities and the MIT iLabs prior
to coming to Harvard, Mr. Harward is uniquely positioned to assess the role of our project within the
academic community and beyond. We will look to him for guidance on how well we are reaching our
respective audiences and insight into strategies for doing so.
Jim Waldo, Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, and Chief
Technology Officer, Harvard University (http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~waldo/). As the University’s
Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Waldo will comment on the backend infrastructure of our website. Lest he
sound overly focused solely on technological matters, it is worth noting that he has a humanities
background (MA in Linguistics; PhD in Philosophy), prior to his work in the business and IT
communities.
James P. Allen, Wilbour Professor of Egyptology, Department of Egyptology & Ancient
Western Asian Studies, Brown University
(http://research.brown.edu/research/profile.php?id=1170774357). As one of the most distinguished
Egyptologists and president of the International Association of Egyptologists, Prof. Allen is superbly
qualified to critique the scholarly applications of our work. His seminal work in Egyptian hieroglyphic
grammar and Old Kingdom mortuary literature and religion put him in an excellent position to advise us
on the organization of the Egyptological content on the Giza website and its effectiveness as an essential
research tool.
John Baines, Professor of Egyptology; Fellow of The Queen’s College, University of Oxford
(http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/staff/eanes/jbaines.html). Prof. Baines is one for the foremost Egyptologists
in the world and has written extensively on Egyptian visual and written culture. Managing the Online
Egyptological Bibliography at Oxford, he has an unparalleled perspective on the organization of massive
amounts of scholarly archival information. We expect his expertise to aid us greatly in modifications to
Egyptological search functions, thesaurus terminology, and linking of the scholarly literature to our
traditional archaeological data.
Florence Friedman, Visiting Scholar, Department of Egyptology & Ancient Western Asian
Studies, Brown University, and Curator Emerita, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. Dr.
Friedman has been studying the royal iconography at the Giza Necropolis for several years, in particular,
the finds from the Menkaure Pyramid Complex, excavated by the HU–MFA Expedition. Her Giza
expertise has been invaluable in helping us understand the original layout of the statuary program of Giza
mortuary complexes. She will contribute her expertise on three-dimensional sculpture, iconography, and
art historical features during the Old Kingdom in general.
Jeffrey Schnapp, Professor of Romance Languages and Literature, Graduate School of Design,
Harvard University; Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and Director of Metalab
(http://metalab.harvard.edu, http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/jschnapp). Prof. Schnapp is a cultural
historian with research interests extending from Roman antiquity to the present. He came to Harvard from
Stanford, where he directed the Stanford Humanities Lab. Now directing Harvard’s Metalab, he oversees
and supports a number of innovative digital initiatives that are making serious contributions to humanities
scholarship and research. He will guide us in the look and feel of our website, and suggest new and
creative ways to cross-reference our data and keep pace with developing trends in online academia.
Gabriel Pizzorno, Lecturer on History, Harvard University. Dr. Pizzorno has many years of
digital humanities and archaeological engagement with the Digital Gordion Project in Central Turkey
(http://sites.museum.upenn.edu/gordion/), focusing on one of the most important sites of the ancient Near
East. He stands ready to contribute his archaeological and GIS expertise for the immersive layout and
geographical organization of the data in context.
Janis Sacco, Director of Exhibitions, Harvard Museums of Science & Culture. As exhibitions
director and senior developer/writer for the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture, Ms. Sacco has 28
years of experience crafting interpretive narratives for exhibit graphics, videos, and interactive media. She

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also routinely supervises evaluations of exhibit products to improve their efficacy for public audiences.
She will assist us with our focus groups and the overall assessment of our educational strategies.
Polly Hubbard, Education Program Manager, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology,
Harvard University. Ms. Hubbard’s time as a middle school teacher helped her partner with the
Cambridge public school district to develop a social studies unit linking classrooms with Harvard’s
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. She has assessed the learning potential of technologies
for students over ten years of educational evaluations at the nonprofit research and development firm
TERC. She will assist with all our focus group assessments, at the beginning and end of the grant year.

H) Production team:
Rus Gant, Giza Lead Technical Artist. Role: Combines archaeology, technology, graphic design,
outreach, and 3D virtual reality skills; supervises 3D model creation of selected Giza tombs and other
structures; oversees production of online videos; supports conversion of Giza virtual reality work and
other technologies conducive to research and teaching. Continuity expertise with the Project since 2009.
David Hopkins, Giza Technical Artist. Role: Creates Giza 3D tomb models of selected tombs
with a variety of software tools; supports conversion of 3D model files to Harvard Visualization Center
for teaching and research; providing guidance on new website design and layout. Continuity expertise
with the Project since 2011.
Rashmi Singhal, Software engineer, HarvardX, Harvard University: Back-end website scripting
for new Giza website (with data supplied from TMS GizaCARD database). NB: The active, real-time
querying of extensive, customized data tables from within an immersive 3D model environment is a
significant and novel element of the website that requires advanced coding expertise. This complex level
of cross-linking between these 2D/3D data and object structures, plus the need for clear and elegant
design of multiple interfaces and search processes, collectively account for the relatively high web
development budget line. Ms. Singhal will assist with creating JSON APIs to link the back-end SQL
database (TMS) to the forthcoming public Giza website.
Jeff Steward, Director of Digital Infrastructure and Emerging Technology, Harvard University
Art Museums. Mr. Steward has a great deal of personal involvement with the Giza Project, first at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he created many of the Project’s plugins and enhancements for its
original TMS database, and more recently at Harvard, where he has followed the Project’s progress with
great interest. Like Rashmi Singhal (above), he will advise on the creation of JSON APIs to link the back-
end SQL database (TMS) to the forthcoming public Giza website. He was also part of the team at Harvard
the created Mirador, the new open-source, web-based, multi-window image viewing platform that we
hope to incorporate into the website.

I) State of the project:

The Giza Project has a proven track record of more than a decade of archaeological data
processing, modeling, and presentation, producing innovative, award-winning web resources and popular
Harvard undergraduate and graduate courses. The Principal Investigator of the current proposal initiated
the work in 2000 as an employee at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with the support of the Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation. The primary goal of the MFA’s “Giza Archives Project” was to provide global
scholarly access to the Giza data from the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
to Egypt (active from 1903 to 1947). We scanned, transcribed, and created database records for 37,199
Giza images (21,000 original expedition glass plate negative images plus 16,199 more recent images),
3,105 pages of excavation diaries, and 2,380 pages of object register discovery logbooks, resulting in
22,076 individual object records. Moving beyond this original mandate, we then added 10,000 digitized
archaeological line drawings, 5,351 pages of unpublished manuscripts, and almost 1,300 Quicktime
Virtual Reality (360-degree rotatable) panoramas taken at Giza. We also created a free online Giza Digital
Library of scholarly and more popular publications in PDF format (posted with authors’ permission
and/or in accordance with fair usage guidelines, and all processed with optical character recognition for

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complete searchability). The library has proven to be such a popular feature that we are continuing to
expand its holdings and will make them available on the new Giza website as well.
The first Giza website was launched in 2005 (http://www.gizapyramids.org). A series of
succeeding Mellon grants supported the Project over ten years (2000–2011), and 475 individuals
contributed to the work: Egyptological staff, undergraduate and graduate students, museum docents and
volunteers. From November 2011 to November 2012, the Giza website posted 38,558 visits from 25,079
people from 140 countries (data source: Google Analytics). There are currently more than 86,000 HU–
MFA Expedition records on www.gizapyramids.org (see Section 7, Figure 25: website totals screenshot).
The Society of American Archivists selected the Giza Archives website as the winner of the 2010 Philip
M. Hamer and Elizabeth Hamer Kegan Award in recognition of its outstanding efforts in promoting the
knowledge and use of collections (http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-hamer).
The Giza Archives Project was also a 2011 Computerworld Honors Program laureate, in the Training and
Education category (http://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/CWHONORS2011/35791/?&).
As a result of the information made available by the Project, the PI has published two scholarly
monographs and numerous articles. For selected references and additional Giza publications by the PI,
please see section 3: Bibliography. Countless other Egyptological excavation reports and masters and
PhD dissertations have since relied on the Giza data on www.gizapyramids.org.
Beginning in 2009, the PI and the Project benefited from collaboration with the French 3D
modeling software company, Dassault Systèmes (http://www.3ds.com), to begin building the Giza
Necropolis in 3D (http://giza.3ds.com). Dassault Systèmes provided financial support from their “Passion
for Innovation” program for Giza work in Boston. As a preliminary proof of concept and experimentation
with interface capabilities, a 3D Giza website was launched in May 2012, combining a very small amount
of the traditional Giza data, the navigable 3D model of the entire site with fourteen selected tombs and
temples constructed in detail, short guided fly-throughs with the PI’s narrated voiceover, and other
interactive features. This has allowed the Project to expand its public outreach greatly beyond the original
Mellon Foundation mandate of providing an online research site primarily for scholars. Please see the
583-page, 60 MB PDF document containing hundreds of journalists’ worldwide press coverage in dozens
of languages since the launch of http://giza.3ds.com in May 2012, available for download at
http://www.hightail.com/download/UW16TkF0OW5ubHlFQk1UQw. More recently, Dassault Systèmes
has ceased supporting the proprietary infrastructural components of Giza 3D’s modeling platform and of
the Giza 3D website itself, causing the site to lose functionality and ultimately cease working. After that,
the new Digital Giza website will be the only interface through which these sophisticated models, the
most archaeologically accurate ever created, will be available. Additionally, present and future new
reconstructions of Giza monuments will be integrated with the fullest repertoires of relevant data and
archival records available anywhere. (See Design Document for our shift to non-proprietary, open source
solutions for Digital Giza and associated sustainability strategies).
In 2014, the Giza Project was awarded a 2-year NEH Humanities Collections and Reference
Resources (HCRR) grant for the creation and population of our core data management system, the Giza
Consolidated Archaeological Reference Database (GizaCARD), a centralized relational database that is
logically structured specifically for multiple types of site-oriented archaeological data (ID number PW-
51569-14). Over the course of the grant period (2014–2016), Project staff members will continue to
process and cross-reference thousands of digitized documents and media related to Giza’s archaeological
record—currently housed in physical archives scattered around the world, from collections in North
America, Europe, and Egypt. This substantial volume of disparate data is being consolidated in our
database into a complex array of interrelated information reflecting Giza’s important material legacy in
total. GizaCARD will in turn provide the data underpinning for all aspects of the new Giza Project
website, the subject of the current DPP grant proposal.
With the scholastic research potential proven with www.gizapyramids.org and the 3D immersive
and world outreach strategy firmly demonstrated with http://giza.3ds.com, we believe that all the key
pieces are now in place to form the largest and most innovative publicly available Giza data resource ever

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assembled. A major contribution to the widespread dissemination of this humanities knowledge base is
the subject of the present NEH proposal: to create the website linking the two strategies described above.

J) Work plan:
The objective of the current proposal is to create a scale-version working prototype of the
forthcoming Digital Giza website, combining the best aspects of both of our previous approaches
(detailed below in section 8: Design Document). The following is a summary of past and future goals and
objectives for the Giza Project. These goals have been divided into four stages:
Stage 1 (2000–2011) [pre-Giza Project at Harvard period]. The Giza Archives Project at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, collected and digitized all materials pertaining to the 40+ year-long HU–
MFA Expedition to Giza, resulting in the creation of more than 80,000 TMS records. To provide access
to the information in the database, the Project produced two free public resources: the scholarly research
website http://www.gizapyramids.org and the pilot 3D website http://giza.3ds.com.
Stage 2 (2011–2016) [including NEH HCRR grant period (2014–2016)]. The Giza Project at
Harvard is producing a completely integrated and fully linked TMS database (GizaCARD), incorporating
the major collections of Giza objects and archival holdings across three continents, as well as periodically
continuing to construct new 3D models.
Stage 3 (2016–2017) [NEH DPP Prototyping grant period]. The Giza Project will complete a
prototype of the forthcoming new, fully integrated and searchable public Giza website, combining the
archival “deep” data from all the individual global collections with an immersive 3D virtual model
interface. This prototype site will demonstrate the full range of functionality for the 3D graphic models
and data holdings for the Khafre Pyramid Complex (which includes the Khafre Pyramid, Pyramid
Temple, Valley Temple, Sphinx, and Sphinx Temple). The result will be a scaled version of a unique tool
for education and research, available for classroom use, scholarly research, edu-tourism, and social media
dissemination, suitable for amateurs and experts alike.
Stage 4 (2017–2019) [Production period]. Incorporating the valuable lessons learned from user
feedback of the prototype website, the Giza Project will construct the full-scale new public web resource.

The proposed work plan below covers the period of the DPP Prototyping grant (stage 3 above).
Over the course of the twelve-month grant period, the Giza Project team (led by Project Director Peter
Der Manuelian and supported by Egyptological staff Nicholas Picardo, Rachel Aronin, and Jeremy Kisala
and technical artist staff Rus Gant and David Hopkins), in close collaboration with web designer(s),
educators, and programmers, will construct the new public Giza website prototype, using the 3D model as
one interface to access all the disparate types of linked and synthesized archival data contained in the
Project’s database. At the start of the DPP grant period, the Giza Project Advisory Board will meet to
review the final GizaCARD database product (created with the support of the previous NEH HCRR
grant) and discuss the proposed design and content of the new Giza website.
The year of the DPP grant will include the new prototype website’s design, layout, and
construction by a web team, yet to be chosen, in consultation and coordination with Harvard’s Faculty of
Arts & Sciences Research Computing. For the prototype, we will focus on one pyramid complex, that of
the Pharaoh Khafre, including its associated temples and the Great Sphinx. This manageable subset of the
3D Giza Plateau computer model permits us to choose and optimize solutions for site architecture,
functionality, and heuristic components. It also provides the essential opportunity to identify bugs and
troubleshoot before scaling up to the entire dataset and complete 3D model during a future Production
phase of the Project. At every step of the prototype’s construction process, the site designer(s) will work
in communication with the humanities advisers and digital production team to ensure an innovative and
powerful yet user-friendly website that serves the needs of a broad and diverse audience. After a
preparatory fact-finding round of local testing in January 2016, and a second, more extensive round of
beta testing in October, the final months of the grant period will allow for detailed analysis of user
feedback and browsing metrics to determine appropriate adjustments and enhancements to refine
audience engagement.

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Pre-grant period: Meeting with humanities advisers to discuss integration of GizaCARD database and
3D virtual model; preparation for creating JSON APIs to link the back-end SQL database (TMS) to the
forthcoming public Giza website; mock-ups and design refinements

Jan. 2016:
Testing & Evaluation: Formative testing phase - events/focus groups at the Harvard Semitic
Museum to solicit feedback from the museum-going public
Feb. 2016:
Testing & Evaluation: Analysis and integration of user feedback
Website construction: Khafre Pyramid model importation/incorporation into Unity; coding;
database linking; optimization
Mar. 2016:
Website construction: Khafre Pyramid Temple model importation/incorporation into Unity;
coding; database linking; optimization
Narrative video creation: Storyboard preparation of Gateways to Giza interactive video
productions
Apr. 2016:
Website construction: Khafre Valley Temple model importation/incorporation into Unity;
coding; database linking; optimization
Narrative video creation: Storyboard completion and database resource selection/integration for
Gateways to Giza interactive video productions
May 2016:
Website construction: Sphinx model importation/incorporation into Unity; coding; database
linking; optimization
Narrative video creation: Scripting of Gateways to Giza interactive video productions
June 2016:
Website construction: Sphinx Temple model importation/incorporation into Unity; coding;
database linking; optimization
Narrative video creation: Scripting completion of Gateways to Giza interactive video
productions
Testing & Evaluation: Meeting with Giza Project Advisory Board to discuss prototype website
progress, first round of beta testing results, and narrative frames of the Gateways to Giza
July-Aug. 2016:
Website construction: Complete interlinking of archival data and 3D models, with possibility of
GIS information as well
Narrative video creation: Construction of Gateways to Giza interactive video productions
Sep. 2016:
Website construction: Implementation and testing of overall plateau model and website
navigation features
Narrative video creation: Review/revision of Gateways to Giza interactive video productions
Oct. 2016:
Testing & Evaluation: Beta testing phase - Amazing Archaeology Day and other special events
to generate metrics about most popular/used/revisited sections of the site
Nov. 2016:
Testing & Evaluation: Analysis and integration of user feedback; troubleshooting links
Dec 2016:
Testing & Evaluation: Meeting with Giza Project Advisory Board to review the final website
prototype and discuss feedback and improvements to website based on user evaluation; addition
of supplementary tools and/or options to further enhance the user experience;
planning/scheduling for subsequent scaled-up Production phase of the website

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Final Prototype project white paper

K) Organization profile:
The Giza Project, a non-profit international initiative based at Harvard University, assembles
information about all the archaeological activity at the Giza Pyramids of Egypt along with their
surrounding cemeteries and settlements (3rd millennium BCE to present). Using digital archaeology, the
Project unites diverse documentation to produce powerful online and traditional academic research tools
and new teaching technologies. It presents academic information about Giza at all levels of expertise for
the world community and strives to provide a model of archaeological information management. Harvard
University, established in 1636, is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to
developing leaders in many disciplines who make a difference globally. Harvard faculty members are
engaged with teaching and research to push the boundaries of human knowledge. The University has
twelve degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, 2100 faculty, an
enrollment of over 20,000 degree candidates, and more than 360,000 alumni around the world.

L) Fundraising plan:
Funding has come from the following sources:
• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York: 2000–2011, $3.2 million awarded to the Giza
Archives Project, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Leon Levy Foundation, New York: 2011–2012, $240,000 awarded to the Giza Project at
Harvard University
• Dassault Systèmes, Paris: 2010–2011, 2011–2012, $400,000 awarded to the Giza Project at
Harvard University
• National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference
Resources (HCRR) grant: 2014-2016, $300,000 awarded to the Giza Project at Harvard
University
• Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Funding: 2013, $40,000 in operating funds
• Harvard University Provost’s Office: 2014, $40,000 in operating funds
• Harvard University Extension School (DCE): 2014, $50,000 in operating funds
• Lasky-Barajas Dean’s Innovation Fund for Digital Arts and Humanities, Cambridge: 2015, $12,000
awarded to the Giza Project at Harvard University

Since the Giza Archives Project’s inception at the MFA in 2000 as a Mellon Foundation-funded
project to digitize Giza data from the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, the
director and PI has held a larger vision and has worked passionately to realize it step by step. His belief is
that Giza, as the most famous archaeological site in the world, requires a dedicated, permanent, and
sustainable centralized repository of all the world’s knowledge about the site. Whether that repository is a
physical institute, an online resource, or both, the goal is to preserve and disseminate Giza’s rich legacy in
new and exciting ways, not just for scholars but for the world community as well.
Now that the Giza Project and the PI are firmly established at Harvard University, the
opportunities for sustainability and growth have never been greater. The academic and research mission
of the University provides a perfect fit, since the research enhances the teaching and vice versa. Both the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Harvard University are dedicated to long-term sustainability of the
Giza work. The Project is also in discussion with several potential individual donors and corporate
sponsors in order to fill any remaining gaps in the budget.

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8. Design Document
The design of the new Digital Giza: A Portal to the Pyramids website will incorporate elements
of both traditional and innovative user experience. Functionally speaking, it will integrate the cross-
referencing and aggregating power of an intensive relational database of Giza data (as demonstrated by
The Giza Archives Project site: www.gizapyramids.org) with the interactive, visual-spatial experience
and real-time responsiveness of an immersive 3D model environment (as demonstrated by the Giza 3D
site: http://giza.3ds.com). The centrality of site and place in the Giza Project’s data structure provides a
seamless point of crossover between the virtual Giza environment and the wealth of information
contained in the interlinked database records. It is thus an ideal framework for smooth, click-through
connectivity among these numerous kinds of interrelated digital archaeological materials and for shaping
an online experience for website users. Website integration creates one large, multifaceted “information
environment” in which users experience traditional documentary information immersively from the first-
person perspective. Alternatively, archaeologically accurate 3D reconstructions function as gateways to
the original, primary sources (photos, drawings, etc.) upon which they were “built.”
The full Digital Giza website is an ambitious endeavor. This proposal lays out activities to design
and build a fully-functional, but limited-scope Digital Giza Prototype, with these preliminary activities
focused especially on two points: (1) achieving appropriate tone and level for narrative content and (2)
arranging the technical aspects of website architecture to optimize function across all five major access
routes, or “Portals.” This prototype will be the basis from which the Giza Project will scale up to
incorporate all of its holdings into a future powerful and comprehensive online resource. For this
prototype website, a subset of the Giza Project’s holdings was chosen, namely those associated with the
Pyramid Complex of King Khafre of ancient Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty (about 2555–2532 BCE). These
include five completed 3D-graphic models of its constituent monuments (Pyramid, Pyramid Temple,
Valley Temple, Great Sphinx, and Sphinx Temple) and all associated archival content: artifacts, site and
object photos, excavation diaries, supporting primary and secondary documents, associated ancient and
modern people, publications, etc.

1) Narrative Treatment
Since digital archaeology is a practical mode of multimedia experiential learning, a broad
narrative frame surrounds the overall concept of Digital Giza, one that is enhanced by multiple smaller,
more specific experiences. Some of these experiences are structured and guided; others are user-
influenced or freeform. All of these promote engagements with our priority humanities themes through
experiencing, using, appreciating, and preserving ancient history and its source materials, with Giza as the
vehicle towards these ends. This overarching narrative treatment of the Digital Giza website can be
summarized as: experiencing digital archaeology. Digital archaeology is, at its core, the study of the
archaeologically-represented past through the use of a broad spectrum of digital tools and technologies. It
may include high-end imaging and mapping methods employed by field archaeologists, as well as the 3D-
visualized fly-through of an ancient temple that introduces ancient Egyptian religion to a seventh-grader.
Digital archaeology can bring the sometimes obscure world of academic archaeological and historical
research to more widely accessible avenues of public education and outreach.
Through Digital Giza: A Portal to the Pyramids, public engagement with the “narrative of digital
archaeology” will be realized as the sum result of numerous smaller, integrated encounters. Digital Giza
will offer two broad categories of narrative: (1) semi-structured and (2) self-guided, often with the former
dovetailing directly into the latter. Both types stress interactivity and contextualized engagement with the
continually-expanding universe of archival and 3D-graphic resources curated by the Giza Project (for
details of these narrative approaches, see description for “Gateways to Giza” below in Section 2: User
Experience). A primary use of the year of DPP Prototype activity will be working out the structure, tone,
and education levels of both interpretive texts and Gateways to Giza experiences. We provide here
general, preliminary samples of such content to convey our current thinking. Through the year-long grant
period, these key narrative components of the site will be further planned, composed, reviewed, and

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finalized in
i close consu
ultation with the specialist education annd exhibition design membbers of our
Humanitiees Advisory Board
B from th
he Harvard Museums
M of Sccience and Cuulture.

2) User Experience
E
A core philoso ophy of the Giiza Project is that digital arrchaeology iss not merely aan academic
pursuit. Itt is also a fruitful process for
f targeted in nquiry or curioosity in generral. While moodes of
presentatiion and engag gement vary, thet data resou urces that cann inform any oof these levels of interest—
—
from sixth h-grader to seeasoned scholar—are essen ntially the sam
me, and the GGiza Project att Harvard is thhe
world’s most
m extensivee repository of o such materiial for this moost popular arrchaeological site. For a given
user of thee website, wh hat differentiaates one route to discoveryy and knowleddge from anotther is the natture
of the toolset best suiteed for accessin ng, interpretin
ng, and usingg the informattion. We are ddirecting our
choices foor interface deesign and nav vigation options towards m making Digitall Giza as univversally user--
friendly, inviting,
i and intuitively
i fun nctional as po
ossible. Althoough the pyram mids of Giza are already a
major sou urce of public fascination, we w recognize that a convolluted, hard-too-use website would be
counterproductive to th he Giza Project’s ultimate goals of channneling the usse of its resouurces to publicc
benefit annd enjoyment..
S Structure and Navigattion: Basic weebsite navigattion will operrate through ttypical point-aand-
Site
click hypeerlinked text, icons, and grraphics. A perrsistent menuu bar of dropddown options will be accessible
on all pag
ges. The curreent blueprint for f the websitte’s overall strructure is reppresented in thhe following ssite
map:

To
T orient onlinne visitors wh
hile offering an
a immediate sense of Digiital Giza’s pootential and
purpose, the
t home page (see below)) will be clean n and simple, with emphassis on visual ccues over an
abundance of text. Thee backdrop to o the upper po ortion will be a photo-realiistic renderingg of the entiree
“Virtual Giza”
G model, the most detaailed and accuurate graphic reconstructioon of the archaaeological sitte to
u bar will be situated at thee top of this aand every pagge (about whicch, see additional
date. A peersistent menu
detail belo
ow). The remmainder of the page (aside from
f a footer)) will be occuupied by a verry conspicuouus
visual menu of five large images rep presentative of
o the Digital Giza interfacces to which tthey lead,
respectiveely: INTROD DUCTION TO O GIZA, GAT TEWAYS TO O GIZA, VIRT TUAL GIZA, GIZA MAP PS,

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and SEAR RCH GIZA. Each E of these five “Portals”” will have a clear headingg and a brief eexplanatory
caption. They
T consist of
o four Access Points to Diigital Giza coontent and expperiences propper, alongsidee one
link to bassic introductoory informatio w are eitherr completely nnew to the arcchaeology of Giza
on for users who
or just neeed a refresherr. From left to
o right, these Portals
P progreess from geneeral to more sspecialized with
respect to the types and d amounts of information available.
a Corrrespondinglyy, the amountt of narrative
guidance and “story-telling” provideed to users deecreases from m substantial to none.

These
T five “Po
ortals” or prim
mary access ro
outes into Diggital Giza: A P
Portal to the Pyramids cann be
summarizzed as followss:

PORTAL L #1: INTRO ODUCTION TO GIZA

Orientatiion Material about Ancieent Giza and Giza Archaeeology
This
T first Portaal into Digitall Giza will neecessarily incllude more intterpretive textt than most otther
sections of
o the site—bu a as a lightt tutorial for uusing the Digiital Giza site. A
ut with a twisst. It will act also
visitor willl be met with
h introductoryy prose about the histories of ancient Giiza and Giza aarchaeology.
Ample im magery will co omplement th his text, to include site and artifact images, photos off excavators annd
excavation ns, 3D reconsstructions of ancient
a Egypttians at Giza, etc. Howeveer, some text w will function

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additionally as mouse-over triggers and highlighted hyperlinks to activate pop-up content that
characterizes the experiences through other Portals, such as instant database search results, conduits to 3D
monument exploration in Virtual Giza, etc. In the sample introductory paragraphs that follow,
underlined text signals responsive content that is described in brief by the accompanying footnotes:

Introduction to Ancient Giza

[Introductory text will be accompanied by a visual timeline of important Giza persons and events.]

The Giza Plateau of Egypt,1 located about 15 miles southwest of modern Cairo, is one of
the most important and famous archaeological sites in the world. It is home to the Great
Pyramid,2 the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. Built by King
Khufu3 in the Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom4 (around 2550 BCE), the Great
Pyramid was the largest ever constructed in Egypt, originally reaching a height of 481 feet. Two
of Khufu’s successors also built major monuments at Giza: Khafre,5 whose burial complex
includes the second-largest pyramid6 as well as the Sphinx; and Menkaure,7 builder of the
smallest of the three pyramids8 at Giza.
As these royal complexes were being constructed, and even for centuries after Egyptian
kings began to build their monuments elsewhere, hundreds of tombs were systematically added
to cemeteries surrounding the pyramids, to serve as the eternal resting places for the royal family
and bureaucratic elite. Among these individuals were Khufu’s mother Queen Hetepheres I,9
whose mysterious burial10 was hidden nearly 90 feet underground; the vizier (or prime minister)
Hemiunu,11 architect of the Great Pyramid; and Queen Meresankh III,12 owner of a unique,
beautifully decorated tomb13 east of her grandfather Khufu’s pyramid.
The ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom14 (about 2650–2150 BCE) was a period of strong
central government. Thus, it makes sense that its kings were able to organize the vast quantity of
labor required for such vast building projects, and also that many officials chose to be buried at a
site so near the capital, the focus of power. After the collapse of the Old Kingdom, however,
came a time of weakened central control along with the rise of powerful local district rulers. In
parallel to the decentralization of government and administration, there was a move away from

1
Mouse-over pop-up of modern image of Giza
2
Mouse-over pop-up of photo triptych: modern view of pyramid, early 1900’s view, 3D-reconstruction view;
linkable text to database monument record.
3
Mouse-over pop-up of statue of Khufu; linkable text to database profile page with information on Khufu, itself
linked to all other relevant materials.
4
Old Kingdom will be highlighted on the visual Giza timeline.
5
Mouse-over pop-up of statue of Khafre; linkable text to database profile page with information on Khafre, itself
linked to all other relevant materials.
6
Mouse-over pop-up of photo triptych: modern view of pyramid, early 1900’s view, 3D-reconstruction view;
linkable text to database monument record.
7
Mouse-over pop-up of statue of Menkaure; linkable text to database profile page with information on Menkuare,
itself linked to all other relevant materials.
8
Mouse-over pop-up of photo triptych: modern view of pyramid, early 1900’s view, 3D-reconstruction view;
linkable text to database monument record.
9
Click to view 3D video featurette about Queen Hetepheres I; linkable text to database profile page with
information on Hetepheres, itself linked to all other relevant materials.
10
Mouse-over pop-up of excavation-in-progress photo of Hetepheres’ burial; 3D-reconstruction view.
11
Mouse-over pop-up of statue of Hemiunu.
12
Click to view 3D video featurette about Queen Meresankh III; linkable text to database profile page with
information on Meresankh, itself linked to all other relevant materials.
13
Mouse-over pop-up of excavation photos of Meresankh’s tomb; 3D-reconstruction view.
14
Old Kingdom will be highlighted on the visual Giza timeline.

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the primary elite cemetery at Giza; instead, officials built their tombs at smaller regional burial
grounds, closer to the now-prominent local centers of power. As a result, building at Giza
tapered off, and was not resumed even with the reunification of Egypt under a single, strong
dynasty during the Middle Kingdom15 (about 2060–1640 BCE).
After another period of fractured rule and civil war, Egypt rose to new heights of imperial
power during the New Kingdom16 (about 1550–1070 BCE), when a resurgence of attention to
Giza and especially the Sphinx17 occurred. Several pharaohs of Dynasties 18 and 19 built or
added onto chapels in the area of the Sphinx, and Thutmose IV cleared away the sand which had
buried the Sphinx’s body after supposedly having a vision which promised him the kingship if
he did so. This event was commemorated in a nearly 12-foot tall stone monument called the
Dream Stela,18 which Thutmose set up between the paws of the Sphinx after the foretold events
things had come to pass; the stela still stands there today.
When the New Kingdom19 ended, there was a final era of decline and political instability,
followed by a period of foreign rule over Egypt, which was put to an end by the indigenous
kings of Dynasty 26.20 Having broken free of foreign control and established a new central
government, they tried to legitimize their reigns by emphasizing their native Egyptian-ness. This
included a surge of interest in Egypt’s past, especially in the glory days of the Old Kingdom.
Already ancient, the pyramids were one of the iconic images of Egypt, and so the elite returned
once more to Giza, digging new burial shafts across the plateau—many of them intruding into
the existing Old Kingdom structures.
While the pyramids identify Giza as the great royal necropolis of ancient Egypt’s earliest
state, the Giza Plateau21 preserves a much broader window onto the first flourishing of ancient
Egypt, one of the world’s first great civilizations. Tomb scenes capture snapshots of everyday
lives and beliefs of Egyptians from all walks of life. Settlements22 offer opportunities to walk the
same halls where ancient feet once tread. And burial remains inform a modern understanding of
the lives of individual Egyptians. Although Giza thrived several millennia ago, connecting with
ancient Egyptian culture now through Giza’s history and archaeology provides insight into not
only the differences but, more importantly, the many similarities that are shared between the
ancient and modern experiences of being human.

Introduction to Giza Archaeology

[Introductory text to be accompanied by visual timeline of archaeological projects and milestones.]

A long history of construction, use, and reuse is part of what makes Giza so fascinating, complex,
and valuable as a resource for understanding ancient Egypt. Famous in both ancient times and modern,
the site has been the focus of exploration and excavation, from the time of medieval travelers to
Napoleon Bonaparte’s famous 1798 Egyptian expedition,23 to modern scientific archaeology of the 20th
century and now into the 21st. Aside from some early clearance work in the first half of the 1800s by the
Frenchman Auguste Mariette24, director of the first national service to monitor and safeguard Egyptian

15
Middle Kingdom will be highlighted on the visual Giza timeline.
16
New Kingdom will be highlighted on the visual Giza timeline.
17
Mouse-over pop-up of photos of Sphinx; 3D-reconstruction view; linkable text to database monument record.
18
Mouse-over pop-up of photo of Sphinx and Dream Stele; click to view English translation of hieroglyphs.
19
New Kingdom will be highlighted on the visual Giza timeline.
20
Late Period will be highlighted on the visual Giza timeline.
21
Click to enter 3D Giza Plateau model.
22
Mouse-over pop-up of plans of recently excavated workmen’s town; link to recent, public-friendly articles about
these excavations (by Ancient Egypt Research Associates).
23
Napoleon’s expedition will be highlighted on the visual Giza timeline.
24
Linkable text to database profile page with information on Mariette, itself linked to all tombs excavated by him.

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antiquities, the earliest “modern” scientific investigation at Giza took place in 1842–43. At this time a
Prussian expedition25 led by Karl Richard Lepsius26 (1810–1884) cleared and numbered several private
tombs, entered the Great Pyramid, and drew maps and plans of the site. In 1880 the British archaeologist
W. M. F. Petrie27 set out for Giza, where he was able to record the most accurate measurements of the
Great Pyramid and other monuments produced up to that time. He also investigated a few isolated
private tombs in the Western Cemetery.
In the early 1900s, the Giza Plateau was divided into three sections,28 with excavation rights
granted to archaeologists from three nations: American George Reisner,29 of Harvard University and the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Germans Georg Steindorff30 and Hermann Junker,31 of the Universities of
Leipzig and Vienna, respectively; and Italian Ernesto Schiaparelli,32 director of the Egyptian Museum of
Turin. These excavations, along with work by Selim Hassan33 and other Egyptian archaeologists
beginning in the 1920s, produced the majority of data about Giza available today. The artifacts found by
these expeditions, along with the photographs and records they created, are now scattered in collections
across the globe in Cairo, Berlin, Hildesheim, Leipzig, Vienna, Turin, Philadelphia, Berkeley, and
Boston,34 to name just a few places.
In 2000, the Giza Project began to digitize and make available online the records at one of these
institutions: the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Project, now based at Harvard University, has since
expanded its scope, and is now collecting all data held in international collections to build the most
comprehensive repository of Giza-related information in existence—including early visitors’ accounts,
archival records of the excavating institutions, right up to modern day reports of projects currently
ongoing at Giza. After over a hundred years of thorough, scientific excavation, there is still so much we
don’t know. By providing free online access to all this information, we hope to suggest possible avenues
for future exploration and engagement by the public to help fill in the many gaps.

PORTAL #2: GATEWAYS TO GIZA

Interactive Media: Guided Tours and Narrative Pathways
Gateways to Giza provides a series of interactive video segments that take the user on a journey
through time and space—to a land of pyramids, kings, and divinities, to moments of monumental
archaeological discovery, to stories both ancient and modern. Sail down the Nile with Queen Hetepheres
in her majestic royal barge. Excavate the pyramid complex of King Menkaure alongside archaeologist
George Reisner in the early 1900s. Witness the discovery of the famous pair statue of the king and queen
in January, 1910. With the aid of modern 3D modeling technology there are no limits to the stories we
can tell.
These Gateway productions are based on two simple but versatile features: fly-through paths
through the virtual Giza 3D models (“rails”) and interactive stopping points with responsive content. At
any time users may pause the experience and look around themselves in 360-degree space. Each stopping
point will also include this 360-degree viewing capability with a simple click and drag of your mouse,
accompanied by 360-degree sound effects and audio narration, some upon arrival to a space and others

25
Lepsius’ expedition will be highlighted on the visual Giza timeline.
26
Linkable text to database profile page with information on Lepsius, itself linked to all tombs excavated by him.
27
Linkable text to database profile page with information on Petrie, itself linked to all tombs excavated by him.
28
Mouse-over pop-up of plan of 1902 division of Giza between American, German, and Italian concessions.
29
Linkable text to database profile page with information on Reisner, itself linked to all tombs excavated by him.
30
Linkable text to database profile page with information on Steindorff, itself linked to all tombs excavated by him.
31
Linkable text to database profile page with information on Junker, itself linked to all tombs excavated by him.
32
Linkable text to database profile page with information on Schiaparelli, itself linked to all tombs excavated by
him.
33
Linkable text to database profile page with information on Hassan, itself linked to all tombs excavated by him.
34
Mouse-over pop-up of photo of all partner institutions.

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triggered by activation of scene elements through clicks, mouse-overs, etc. There are two general types of
Gateway productions: (1) guided tours and (2) narrative pathways. Both types are conceived to
accomplish the following:
 to provide initial guidance and starting points, from which users can branch out on their own
journeys of discovery
 to be inviting experiences that draw Digital Giza visitors further into the site, especially to make
use of more free-form modes of exploration
 to introduce as many types of data resources as possible, placed in contexts that appropriately
display their value, use, and relevance to the stories of ancient history and its modern
reconstruction through archaeology
 to provide use and interaction choices to stimulate users’ generation of their own questions to
answer through further use of Digital Giza
 to present accurate and engaging information about ancient Egypt through Giza and its
archaeology, while revealing the nature and uses of a variety of source materials
A viewer can choose to progress through these stopping points in a default sequence, thus following a
prescribed path with transitional narration to provide interpretive flow, or they may selectively choose
one at a time in any order from images just below the viewing window. At each stopping point users will
find one or more of the following interactive features:

 360-degree panoramic views where the user can look around from a realistic first-person
viewpoint.
 clickable icons that bring up individual media files or model assets (e.g. excavation photos or
modern pictures of a room or decorated wall, artifacts found in that space, field diaries describing
work in the space, information on owners/users of the area, 3D reconstructions of artifacts).
 click-initiated database searches that yield database records about the monument, its contents,
ancient and modern people associated with it, all available photography and video related to the
space.
 active zooms into details of painted wall decorations, allowing viewers to get up close.
 pop-out content in the video (e.g. items depicted in tomb decorations can be, sometimes literally,
“pulled off” the virtual wall in the form of 3D-modelled renderings, which the user may zoom
and rotate in 360 degrees (Section 7: Images, Figure 4).
 mouse-over triggers for audio, environmental sounds, and avatar character voices to further
narrate or enhance a scene and guide users.

True to their names, these interactive video experiences will leave viewers off at a “gateway” (i.e.
viewing window) to the 3D model of the monument in/at which they have ended their journey, so that
they may freely continue further along their own self-guided paths.
Prototyping activity for this 2016 DPP grant will build two Gateway to Giza productions centered
on the Khafre Valley Temple, a constituent monument of the Khafre Pyramid Complex on which the
Digital Giza Prototype will be based. Using the same monument to produce both one guided tour and one
narrative pathway type of experience, we hope to exhibit the expansive range of stories and experiences
that can be manifested in a single “space” of the 3D Giza environment, which can then be extended
almost infinitely as the rest of the monuments are incorporated into the full website. The following
descriptions reflect our preliminary conceptualizations of these two productions, which will be expanded,
re-worked, revised and completed in coordination with our Humanities Advisory Board members:

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Example 1: Guided Tour Type of Gateway to Giza (Section 7: Images, Figure 3): “Khafre’s Valley
Temple”
Upon selecting this Gateway to Giza, the viewer will be given options to choose from a list of
basic topics that commonly arise with ancient Egypt, such as Art, Architecture, Religion, Daily Lives and
Activities, Pharaohs, Queens, and other Egyptians, and Archaeology, among others. This choice will
determine the “walking path” through the Valley Temple, the array of specific stopping points, as well as
the interactive content that will be encountered and the database materials to which the video will link. A
separate browser window will house the simple navigational scheme of a larger video viewer window,
below which is a horizontal line of thumbnails that correspond with the various stops on the tour.
Clicking play will start the experience from the default first stop with introductory voice-over narration to
introduce a narrator, set the stage, and begin the tour. Clicking instead on another stopping point will go
directly to that point and commence with its narration to orient the viewer to that space, offering options
to click on objects and icons to initiate responsive pop-up and linked content, or on avatars to cue them to
speak. The figure below is a sample, partial storyboard for a tour path that presents the Khafre Valley
Temple through a discussion of art, specifically its statuary.

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Example 2: Narrativee Pathway Ty ype of Gatew way to Giza: “Discoveringg a Masterpiiece: The Staatue
of King Khafre”
K
Concept: In the mid-19th century, prior
p to the development off sound archaaeological metthod, Egyptiaan
Antiquitiees Service fou
under Augustee Mariette did d not keep deetailed diaries of his excavaation work. BBut if
he had, we
w might imag ntry of his—aand bring the Digital Giza user into his w
gine a diary en world at the
time—as follows:
Text
T added in [italics and brackets]
b below describes ssome of the innteractive feaatures that useers
may experience in follo owing this naarrative short story.

[Clicking on this Gatew way story takees the user to the Giza inteeractive compputer model, m moving from a
general viiew of the Khafre Valley Temple,
T throug gh the northeern entrance, aand into the ccorridor passsage.]
Mariette:
M “In 1860 I uneartthed what I beelieve is one oof the greatesst works of thrree-dimensional
sculpture from any sitee or era in Egy yptian historyy: the seated sstone statue oof the pharaohh Khafre. The king
rests on a seat carved with
w lions’ heads and legs, and is proteccted by the fallcon god Horuus, whose
outstretch
hed wings surrround his heaad. The statuee came to lighht in a pit sunkk into the corrridor passagee
towards thhe front of thee temple. [A highlighted
h seection of the aalabaster-tiled flooring disssolves upon
mouse clicck to reveal a pit filled witth statues andd statue fragmments.] There were also fraagments of about
seventeenn other statuess in the pit. Th
he royal beard d, nemes-headddress, and hhieroglyphic innscriptions

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confirm the king’s identity. [By clicking on the Khafre 3D statue model, the user accesses the database
record containing all the relevant information: old and new photos, drawings, bibliography, translation
of the hieroglyphic inscriptions, etc.] On the side of the seat appear the two plants, papyrus and lily, tied
together to symbolize the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. [Users may select and rotate the
computer model image of the statue to view it from all angles, including the floral motif on the seat of the
seat.] I was most struck by the image of the god Horus; he takes the form of a falcon perched behind the
king’s head, stretching out his wings in a gesture of protection. Never before have I seen the images of
god and king so movingly combined. Even the king’s gaze seems to look beyond any of us mortals
standing before him into the distant horizon. Once I set this statue up on display in our new museum,
visitors will marvel at this regal pharaoh for generations to come.” [Users may click on a selection of
recent color detail images of the actual statue, housed today in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.]
Today, geologists call the stone used for the statue anorthosite gneiss, and we know that it came
from Gebel el-Asr, hundreds of miles south of Giza, in Egypt’s western desert. [A map of Egypt will
appear, showing the location of Gebel el-Asr in Egypt’s southwestern desert.] Perhaps no other statue
from ancient Egypt shows the idealized form of the powerful, confident ruler from the Pyramid Age as
successfully. It may have occupied a very special place inside the temple, among more than twenty other
statues of the king. [From the statue pit in the corridor passage, users may navigate the computer model
to enter into the pillared hall. Here they can view restored statues of Khafre placed up against the granite
pillars. Panning past these statues, they arrive towards the back of the temple, perhaps the original
location of the famous seated statue of Khafre. Ancient Egyptian animated priest characters may be
added to the scene, to lend a sense of scale, and to demonstrate the types of ritual gestures and
responsibilities of the temple’s personnel.]
Ironically, Mariette never made the connection of the Valley Temple with Khafre. [A 360-degree
interactive panorama from the standpoint of the statue pit allows the user to view the corridor passage
surrounding the area of discovery.] He puzzled over whether it was an addition to the Sphinx complex or
vice versa, one of the many uncertainties about the ancient site that continued exploration has helped to
solve. But many more mysteries await… [To explore the architectural relationships between the Khafre
Valley Temple, the Sphinx and Sphinx Temple, users may pan out to an aerial view above all three
monuments. A toggle switch will dissolve the view between the computer model rendering and actual
aerial photographs of the area. At any time, users may jump to these other monuments to read descriptive
text, navigate the computer models, and view additional images.]

There are unlimited numbers of stories to tell to excite the imagination and stimulate further
investigation. What better way to “rediscover” the lives and material culture of the ancient Egyptians than
by placing the visitor at the find spot or, better yet in some cases, the very spot where ancient Egyptians
made use of artifacts? Or, as in the case of Example #2, to allow one to be present at the very moment of
a momentous archaeological discovery?
As these two brief, very preliminary glimpses of Gateways illustrate, many stories can be told
through the same virtual space because of the extensive and diverse types of resources that can be
“brought into play” for viewers. These video productions will explore such topics as Egyptian funerary
ritual, the economics of tomb building and social structures, the development of Egyptian art and writing,
the significance of archaeological context, the excavation history of the site, the shifting role of
archaeology in Giza’s ongoing history, and issues of cultural patrimony/repatriation. Unlike the free-
ranging 3D navigational framework available in Virtual Giza (see immediately below), which is non-
linear by nature and specific to the individual user, these Gateways will help orient and guide the user to
and through Giza, following a (technically) fixed, but still interactive and engaging trajectory to
illuminate key themes of ancient Egyptian culture and its place in the humanities.

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PORTAL #3: VIRTUAL GIZA

Individualized Interactive Exploration for the Public
Entering through this Portal from Digital Giza’s home page, users will have the Giza Project’s
entire 3D graphic model of the Giza Plateau, with all its monuments and features, spread out before them.
Much like the initial screen of the Giza 3D website’s (http://giza.3ds.com) graphic model environment,
they will have real-time control over the gently rotating model. Movement of the mouse pointer around
the model will highlight sections of the Plateau (Section 7: Images, Figure 5). Clicking a section (e.g. a
pyramid, temple, cemetery, etc.) will zoom to that area (Section 7: Images, Figure 6). From this closer
perspective, individual monuments and features can be selected, with highlight colors indicating generally
what level of information and experience are available for the selected item (e.g. data only, Gateways to
Giza, fully immersive exploration). Clicking a monument will open its introductory database
(GizaCARD) record page in a new window (Section 7: Images, Figure 8), including where applicable an
“entrance” to the full 3D model of tomb, pyramid, temple, house, etc. With this functionality Virtual Giza
is far more than just a sophisticated environment for sightseeing an ancient setting; it is also effectively a
virtual reality search engine for all of the Giza Project’s holdings. A pull-down survey menu will
accommodate those Virtual Giza visitors who wish to focus only on monuments that allow them to
explore immersively, while those who know specific monument names and tomb numbers can use a
simple search bar to go directly to their targeted destination.
Whether navigating around the entire Giza Plateau or inside an individual monument in the 3D
environment of Virtual Giza, the user will experience space from a first-person perspective. All space will
be enhanced with responsive content throughout, of the same variety as described above for Gateways to
Giza video experiences. Small icons and rollovers will indicate embedded photos and other pop-up
content, and the location of (and links to) artifacts; these will help guide the user to supplementary
information and archaeological data from expeditions dating from the 1840s to the present day. This
approach moves from the general to the specific: from navigating through the rooms of a temple, down to
a single artifact found in a specific chamber, with direct access to its modern archaeological records and
associated interpretive documentation. In addition to this path, navigation in the opposite direction is also
available: users may start with a single artifact, such as a statue, and move from its descriptive data to its
discovery photographs, and up many “levels” of generality to its findspot, its tomb of origin, and back out
to the overview model of that region of the Giza Plateau. Searches that reveal data will thus be available
in all directions: top-down, bottom-up, and side-to-side. Furthermore, because of the integration of the 3D
graphic environment and the Project’s underlying database holdings, daily data “refreshes” will ensure
that the information available to public users of the site constantly reflects the maximum available at any
given time.

PORTAL #4: GIZA MAPS:

Visual and Spatial Searching by Map Views
The Giza Maps Portal is a simple yet extremely powerful user interface for both novice and
expert users. It is based upon the widely familiar format of popular online mapping applications such as
Google Maps, Mapquest, Bing Maps, and Yahoo Maps. Upon entering Giza Maps the browser window
will show a top view map/plan of the entire archaeological site of Giza and the immediately surrounding
landscape (Section 7: Images, Figure 7). Navigational tools will consist of a customary array of pan and
zoom functions. Additionally, however, a visitor will be able to use a selections tool to draw a boundary
around an area of interest that includes multiple monuments. This selection will initiate a real-time data
search with parameters defined spatially by the selected area, i.e. a search for information on every Giza
monument and feature within the boundary lines. Just as Google Maps sites online have satellite views in
addition to street map views, Giza Maps will offer several overlays for these searches, which may include
multiple maps, satellite imagery, an aerial view, and a top view of Virtual Giza.
These capabilities offer some significant advantages for every level of user. For instance, this
manner of selection allows anyone to search for information spatially, even if just “browsing” casually,

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because it requires no specific identifying information about Giza monuments such as tomb number or
names of occupants. If an area looks interesting for any reason, a user can access more information about
all monuments within it in an instant. This constitutes a kind of bulk searching that other sections of
Digital Giza do not provide.
This Portal looks ahead to future objectives beyond the DPP grant term for the development of
Digital Giza, both as a public site and as a research tool. Whether Giza Maps will be built upon the
architecture of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) through ArcGIS infrastructure or by the
somewhat simpler native capabilities of the Unity virtual environment and game engine, we will be able
to add additional maps, plans, and views into Giza Maps (see below, Section 3: Technical Specification
for more details). As more and more legacy maps are geo-rectified (i.e. oriented to real-world spatial
coordinates) by the Giza Project and others, it may become possible to allow users, upon pulling up a map
image in its database record, to immediately view it slotted into the Giza Maps view to understand its
relationship within the wider Giza landscape, and then run spatial searches with the selection tool
accordingly. Ultimately it may even become possible to allow users to upload their own maps which, if
marked up with the appropriate spatial information, could be used within the Giza Maps window.
Eventually we also hope to implement a feature similar to the “Google Street View” function. However,
this will require systematic spatial recording on the ground at the site of Giza first. In the shorter
timeframe, the 1,300 360-degree QTVR panorama files created by the PI at Giza will eventually be linked
to appropriate coordinates on the Giza Plateau and be accessible via Giza Maps.

PORTAL #5: SEARCH GIZA

The Giza Consolidated Archaeological Reference Database (GizaCARD)
The Giza Consolidated Archaeological Reference Database (GizaCARD) is the Giza Project’s
core data management platform. The result of the processing, standardization and cross-referencing of
thousands of digitized documents and media related to Giza’s archaeological record, it provides the
content and back-end organizational underpinnings of all aspects of the proposed web resource, in a
relational database framework that is logically structured specifically for site-oriented archaeological data.
As an ongoing practice, the Giza Project continues to incorporate new data resources into GizaCARD as
they are received and processed.
A non-hierarchical configuration of relationships among different types of data records in
GizaCARD allows users to introduce queries moving from more general to more specific or, conversely,
from more narrow searches to broader ones. GizaCARD was developed with a site-centric organizational
structure that optimizes the database for the idiosyncrasies of archaeological datasets. Sites are the central
nodes in a complex web of relationships among data types that are catalogued and interrelated by the
database. The database organizes these relationships as background data tables from which both simple
and complex queries can be quickly performed through the database itself or, more importantly, via
online searches through the new website. The schematic data structure diagram below illustrates an
example of these interrelationships.

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Additionally,
A this
t centrality y of site and place in our daata structuringg offers a seam mless point oof
crossover between the visual-spatiall aspects of th he virtual Gizza environmennt and the vasst related
informatio on contained in GizaCARD D records—in n essence, thee data offer pooints of accesss into structuures
built in th
he virtual enviironment, and d vice versa. The
T integratioon of the syntthesized archiival data of
GizaCAR RD with the viisual and interractive capab bilities of a 3D
D model interrface advancees a new paraddigm
for informmation management and dissemination for f complex aarchaeologicaal sites, not thhe least becausse it
offers opttimal versatiliity for the widdest array of end
e users.
n order to queery the databaase, a free textt search box iis located on tthe persistentt menu bar at the
In
top of all pages of the website,
w provviding familiar, easy-to-usee, “Google-styyle” searching. Simple seaarches
like these may also be initiated via thet “Search Giza”
G Portal oon the home ppage. Likewise, users with more
defined an nd/or specificc interests can
n choose the Advanced
A Seaarch option viia this portal (Section 7:
Images, Figure
F 10), whhich provides for focused searches
s in m
multiple fields,, with Booleaan operators, eetc.
Pages disp playing search output will have options for further reefining the results. All searrches throughh the
Digital Giiza website will
w access GizzaCARD dataa via a custom mized Applicaation Program m Interface (A API)
that optimmizes the quallity and speed d of searching g (see below, S Section 3: Teechnical Specifications).
The
T thoroughn ness of record d entry into GiizaCARD is eessential to prroviding optim mal paths for
research and
a casual exp ploration in th
he future web b resource. Coonsiderable deepth and breaadth of data
interrelatiionships are reequired for th
he individualized interactivve experiencees with the datta, which will vary
primarily on the basis of o how deeply y into the dataa visitors wissh to go. For iinstance, userrs who want too
assemble all the diverse material available for a giveng object ((e.g., a statue)) may conducct a search byy
object acccession/field number,
n and retrieve
r all orriginal docummentation— exxcavation andd in-situ photoos,
modern co olor studio im
magery from its i home instittution, field ddiary entries ddescribing its discovery, obbject

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register entries, architectural plans of its findspot and archaeological context, packing and shipping
information, as well as published and unpublished manuscripts—associated with that artifact (for
examples of GizaCARD data holdings, see Section 7: Images, Figures 15-24).
The incorporation of data from multiple international institutions is especially valuable for users
asking questions about objects or monuments that were explored by more than one expedition, and whose
associated notes, photographs, and objects are now stored around the world. Such was the case for tomb
G 5480, which was excavated by both the Harvard-MFA and German/Austrian missions, and was never
fully published. A search for this tomb (via tomb number or tomb owner’s name) will return information
on objects found in and around the tomb: four copper tools, seven alabaster dishes, a canopic jar and
fragments of three lids, and five statues of the tomb owner now housed in Boston (Museum of Fine Arts
13.3447), Cairo (Egyptian Museum TR 20.1.41.4), Vienna (Kunsthistorisches Museum ÄS 8543),
Cambridge (Fitzwilliam Museum, E62.2926) and Hildesheim (Pelizaeus-Museum 2407). The search
results will also include archival material from the Harvard-MFA expedition (stored in Boston) and the
German/Austrian expedition (stored in Vienna): curatorial photographs of the artifacts (six from
Hildesheim, eight from Vienna, four from Boston), daily diaries (one from Vienna, 17 from Boston), and
excavation photographs (seven from Vienna, 16 from Boston); as well as seven maps and plans and 31
pages of unpublished manuscripts from Boston. Reintegrating these scattered data, a search query to
GizaCARD enables a more holistic understanding of a given site than would otherwise be possible,
providing opportunities for new research and exploration.

Introduction View (default) vs. All Data View

Many records in the database have dozens of different associated pieces of data. To prevent
“information overload” for casual or first-time users—while also not presuming to dictate how much or
little data any given user may ultimately wish to access—every data record will have two possible views:
an “Introduction View” (Section 7: Images, Figure 8) and an “All Data View” (Section 7: Images, Figure
9). In reality all data is available in both views. However, the more expansive data display in the All Data
View is collapsed out of sight (so as not to be overwhelming at first glance) in the Introduction View,
which is the default view for all records. This view shows a primary image and basic descriptive profile
for the monument, document, image, person, movie, publication, etc. that has been pulled up by the user.
Links to all associated types of data specific to this particular record will be visually displayed nearby as
icons that name the categories of available information. The All Data View will display everything
available in the GizaCARD holdings, presented comprehensively but in clearly defined categories of
information to aid those less familiar with archaeological data.

Other functionalities accessible from Digital Giza home page:

“MY Giza” Personal Archiving: Users who create a (free) login profile can save their own
collections chosen from the full Digital Giza holdings (except “live” 3D models). Every data record—
whether for a photograph, tomb, pyramid, archival document, etc.—will include an icon to instantly save
that resource to a My Giza folder. Personal collections can be accessed at any time while using Digital
Giza via a pull-down “My Giza” menu from the persistent header. Saved materials will be categorized
automatically by resource type. Users will have My BOOKSHELF (i.e., publications from the Digital
Giza Library); MY PHOTO ALBUMS (i.e., photographs of any kind); MY DOCUMENTS (i.e.,
excavations diaries, artifact lists, unpublished manuscripts); MY OBJECT COLLECTIONS (i.e., Giza
artifacts and objects); and MY ARCHIVES (i.e., all material saved by the user regardless of
classification). In the My Giza browser window, these archives will be situated as a tabbed index with one
archive active at a time. Contents of the active archive (“My Photo Albums” in Section 7: Images, Figure
11), will show up in two columns, column 1 to scroll through existing folders of saved records, and
column 2 to display a scrolling preview (thumbnail image and filenames) of a selected folder in column 1.
For ease of organization, users will be able to name their own folders. Occupying the rest of the page’s
width is an image viewer to display an image selected from those in column 2. The viewer will display
the highest-resolution image held by the Giza Project to allow for as much detail as possible when using

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pan and zoom tools in the viewer. (Note: downloads and sharing through social networking will utilize
reduced-resolution versions of the image).
Social Media: We regard the integration of popular social media sites to be an important method
to extend the Digital Giza experience beyond the website itself. The ability to share their own “finds”
from Digital Giza through social media allows users to project their own present conceptions and
appreciation of the Giza material into a very modern, public form of communication. This model of
distribution is itself a mode of both re-contextualization of the material and a type of preservation for the
future. The Project itself will maintain a presence on pertinent social media sites, as well as posting
periodic updates to our blog (Section 7: Images, Figure 13).
Digital Giza Library: A very important, if perhaps unassuming component of Digital Giza will
be the world’s largest free online Giza digital PDF library (Section 7: Images, Figure 12), composed of
out-of-copyright publications and copyrighted materials for which we have requested and received
appropriate permissions to post. Users may access the library directly via a drop-down in the persistent
header of the website, or they will find library contents linked to other sections of the site, including
Virtual Giza, Gateways to Giza, and certainly in results of Giza Search and database records. The Giza
Project’s bibliographic work produces not just references in database fields, but also PDF files of
publications themselves, linking literature to all the relevant records in the database, and
opening/downloading the PDF file immediately on the user’s computer. The digital library section of our
previous Giza Archives Project website was one of the most extensively visited sectors of the site. Paper
sources are scanned at 300/600 dpi, as determined by such factors as quality of original, color versus b/w
format, proportion of text to images, etc. All are post-processed with Adobe Photoshop (CS5 or 6) for
orientation and clean-up to produce dependably high-quality output that is consistent with the paper
originals. PDFs are processed with ABBYY FineReader optical character recognition software at highest
sensitivity settings and checked manually to render text optimally searchable. For publications that are
made available in GizaCARD—and eventually online as the largest Giza-related electronic library—links
are made to records for Giza people, places, and objects that are discussed therein, so that bibliography is
actually embedded into the system.

3) Technical Specifications
Site Architecture: Digital Giza website architecture will be grounded primarily on HTML5 and
Java-based scripting to accommodate both current and immediately foreseeable standards of web and
mobile compatibility, while also avoiding pitfalls endemic to the choice of declining formats (e.g., Flash-
based content). Some of the specialized functions will require embedding of additional software and
coding solutions. The selection of the optimal suite of software and adoption/creation of Application
Program Interfaces (APIs) is a major part of the proposed DPP prototyping activity. We have researched
and consulted already with specialists to narrow the list of probable best candidates for the following
Digital Giza functions:
Virtual Giza & Gateways to Giza Interactive Videos: Whereas our past collaboration on the
Giza 3D site required an architecture that relied on embedded elements of (proprietary) Dassault
Systémes’ Virtools and 3DVIA software, we favor open-source solutions where possible and practical.
Although not 100% open-source, the Unity game engine (Unity Technologies, http://unity3d.com/unity)
is a recognized leading standard for interactive 3D-graphic content, especially games, with significant
open-source components. Unity is one of the most versatile full-featured engines for media experiences
across online computing and gaming platforms. In this regard, it is the best choice for accommodating the
hardware configurations of the widest possible user base. Aside from offering the full array of realistic,
real-time capabilities of a robust gaming engine, Unity will bring dynamic lighting and shadowing to
Virtual Giza for the first time. The Giza Project has already begun reformatting and optimizing some
existing models for Unity. Release and use of our 3D media online is further facilitated by broad support
of the free Unity Web Player in the most common web browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer,

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Opera, and Safari in Windows; Safari, Firefox, and Chrome in Mac OS X and newer). Gateways to Giza
media productions are, technically speaking, executable files that launch in the Unity Web Player.
Database, Data API, and Searching: GizaCARD runs on The Museum System (TMS) platform
(www.gallerysystems.com). TMS is a SQL (structured query language) database built of discrete modules
that are cross-referenced to one another. It is a relational database, meaning the relationships between
records in these modules are web-like, as opposed to hierarchical. TMS modules include Sites (pyramids,
tombs, temples, settlements, large archaeological features, etc.), Objects (archaeological finds, archival
documents, documentary records, organic and human remains), Media (photographs, QTVR views,
movies, audio clips, etc.), Constituents (ancient and modern people, groups and institutions), and
Bibliography (relevant published and unpublished works). The TMS software organizes these
relationships as background data tables from which both simple and complex queries can be performed
through the database itself or, more importantly, via online searches. These tables can, however, be
somewhat limiting in search sophistication, intuitiveness, and speed.
Therefore, Digital Giza will have an intermediary API that will be fed by GizaCARD data. This
API will function as an interchange to run data distribution to the Digital Giza site. Currently we expect to
structure this important API as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON, http://json.org/), an open-source
format designed for exchanging data between server-based applications (such as databases) and the web.
JSON brings several advantages. For coding, it is lightweight, i.e., easily read by both humans and
machines, which dramatically facilitates the rapid prototyping of web output that draws on the API. It is
also language-independent, meaning it complies with most other common coding languages. We regard
this built-in flexibility as a safeguard for future development of both Digital Giza and the web in general.
JSON is currently the chosen data-interchange format for Harvard Art Museums websites, so the Giza
Project will have institutional support in its implementation.
A number of search solutions are available for Digital Giza, both open-source and proprietary.
We seek a familiar Google-like intuitiveness and range to accommodate individual search styles. This is
to say, we want Digital Giza output to be as logically and helpfully responsive to the question “How long
did King Khufu rule Egypt?” as it is will be to a user inputting Giza tomb number “G 2000.” A custom
Google search engine (https://cse.google.com/cse/) is one option we will explore. Similarly, IBM’s
Watson Explorer, http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/ibmwatson/explorer.html) is based on
“cognitive exploration” of large datasets, a novel search method that might be well-matched to the Giza
Project’s substantial holdings. However, an open-source search option that has been recommended for us
by members of our Production Team is Elasticsearch (https://www.elastic.co/products/elasticsearch).
Since it is optimized for JSON-formatted documents, it promises to work efficiently with our envisioned
JSON API for optimal user searching experience. (As one Production Team members says, “It’s insanely
fast.”)
Giza Maps and GIS Undercarriage for Virtual Giza Basemaps: As mentioned in the Project
Narrative, it is our aim to ground the Digital Giza’s 3D model environment and 2D map interfaces in real-
world space consistent with a standard global coordinate system, i.e., the Universal Transverse Mercator
system (UTM). Aside from being best practice, this step will establish a foundation in which Digital Giza
map-oriented data will be compatible, and receptive to, other maps that have been formatted in UTM
coordinates, as well as viable for use in common Geographical Information Systems (GIS) programs (e.g.,
ArcGIS). Although full embedding of ArcGIS functionality is possible via APIs, we will assess if this is
necessary or if the same functionality can be achieved through simpler native tagging capabilities in
Unity. We are especially interested in testing an open-source map layering-and-searching API called
OpenLayers (http://openlayers.org/). Previously it has been deployed successfully for archaeological
maps by the Digital Gordion Project (http://sites.museum.upenn.edu/gordion/), which has piloted for an
offline archaeological research tool the type of spatially-oriented searching of archaeological data (maps
only) that we seek for Giza Maps. Dr. Gabriel Pizzorno, a member of our Humanities Advisory Board,
has been one of the developers of Digital Gordion.
Embedded Image Viewer: Photographic media is virtually ever-present on the Digital Giza site.
An aim of the Giza Project is to enable users to use still media at the maximum possible resolution that

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we can make available. So, an exemplary image viewer is a must, one with seamless zooming to allow
inspection of the kinds of fine detail that a viewer could achieve in the presence of the actual resource.
Our previous Giza Archives Project website employed Zoomify (Zoomify, Inc.,
http://www.zoomify.com/) as its embedded viewer. At the time of implementation Zoomify was a
favorable solution, though it proved later to be somewhat slow in keeping up with advances in web
technology. It has recently made a jump to HTML5 support and other key compatibilities, and we will
give it a second look. Another very promising viewer for both its simplicity of implementation (coded
entirely in JavaScript) and simple but very effective user interface is OpenSeaDragon
(https://openseadragon.github.io/). A final option, Mirador (http://projectmirador.org/), is the most robust
viewer under consideration. This easily-implemented API is the product of collaboration between
Stanford University and Harvard University (including lead developer Rashmi Singhal, a member of our
Production Team). Although, if selected during the prototyping period as Digital Giza’s image viewer, it
would be rolled out simply as a viewer, Mirador could easily be reconfigured at a later date to add
specialized interfaces such as a book-reader or comparative workspace in which multiple images (from
Digital Giza and other sites) could be compared and analyzed alongside each other. For a first launch of
Digital Giza, we prefer to keep viewing options simple and straightforward; however, we also recognize
the benefits of preemptive preparation for future expansions.
Web Hosting: The Digital Giza Prototype and all Giza Project data will be housed on servers
managed by Harvard Research Computing in the short term. As a future full site prepares to go live, we
will determine if (as is likely) a cloud-based model is most practical. If so, we would expect to use
Amazon Web Services (AWS, http://aws.amazon.com/). AWS is extremely affordable, dependable, and
very easily scalable—with the advantage of low costs proportional to scale.
UGC: Digital Giza will not involve user-generated content, strictly speaking. Site visitors will
have the ability to save and organize media files internally, but not the ability to manipulate or annotate
them. By downloading or sharing via social media, however, they will gain the opportunity to do both. At
that point users’ treatment of media is governed externally by fair use regulations and practices, as well as
the policies of individual social networking sites.
CMS: Current expectations for Digital Giza’s content management system are based on the
architecture and interoperability of the APIs and software solutions described above. Most site content
will funnel through APIs, with content updates/additions to database holdings and newly-created 3D
media being added through daily API refreshes that draw from the Giza Project server(s). For front-end
content on the Digital Giza site—e.g., rotating spotlight objects, blog posts, etc.—a simple (likely web-
based) CMS-interface for site administrators (i.e., Giza Project staff) will be developed in tandem with
overall site construction. Decisions about use of ready-made open-source solutions (e.g., Drupal,
https://www.drupal.org/) versus a custom interface will be determined in close consultation with our
designers and coders.

4) Sustainability Plan
How will these 3D models hold up over time? How can we create an API that will continue to
incorporate both the narrative and the interactive portions of our web offerings? As the Giza Project’s
primary public outlet going forward, the perpetuation of the Digital Giza web resource is our paramount
objective. Technology, online or otherwise, is fast-moving. Our extensibility solutions begin with using
common data standards wherever possible, and remaining open to both proprietary and open-source
platforms. Our objective is a sustainable environment that works, rather than slavish adherence to a single
platform or company. For example, even though our collections management TMS database (GizaCARD)
is proprietary, it is nevertheless SQL-based, thus rooted in a standard database language. We are ready to
export our data tables from TMS to a platform other than JSON as soon as we confirm that it better suits
our needs (though this is unlikely for quite a long time), or to plug in more coherently to the larger
archaeological world online. Our selections of potential technical solutions described above are advanced
as among the most “future-proof” of options. The use of a data-interchange API in JSON format is a

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Section 8: Design Document Digital Giza: A New Portal to the Pyramids

major case in point. Should web standards move well past HTML5 in the semi-distant future, JSON’s
flexibilities will enable rapid prototyping of new website formats. Additionally, as new uses for Giza data
are conceived, this JSON API will be open to easy experimentation for many lines of computational
analysis, exposure to federated searches, and creative data exploration. Other collections could easily be
incorporated into the database and, conversely, data is exportable to other systems. Far from an isolated
data silo, our results are extensible for other archaeological projects within Egyptology, world history and
beyond. For example, Open Context (http://opencontext.org) or the Aegaron Project (“Ancient Egyptian
Architecture Online,” http://dai.aegaron.ucla.edu) might represent viable outlets for sharing our data
beyond our own Giza website.
TMS supported the original Giza Archives Project website at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
and has been chosen by almost all Harvard museums as well. We thus have built-in, University-wide
support in place for this collections management software with the accompanying assurance that, should
tides turn in the distant future and a new platform be favored, systematic institutional migration of
database records and hosted content would follow. Likewise, the use of the open-source standard Unity
platform and Web Viewer for 3D-graphic content brings several advantages for sustainability. It ensures
the longest possible run for the Digital Giza’s 3D-graphic elements, widespread distribution of updates
and upgrade protocols as the Unity game engine and web browsers evolve, and the rapid development of
graphic conversion processes if/when Unity is surpassed as the leading option for these types of media.
Although Digital Giza will be mobile-ready, the immersive use of the Virtual Giza models is not yet
feasible on mobile platforms. As mobile technologies advance to better support the demands of real-time
3D content, the Giza Project plans to adjust Digital Giza accordingly, and the Unity platform is certain to
be part of this move. Looking to the future of content creation, our use of this most common modeling
format lays necessary groundwork for pursuing crowdsourcing of new model assets as graphic modelling
and 3D-scanning become ever more mainstream.
Data Integrity: All data are permanent, archived holdings of the Giza Project. Harvard
University Faculty of Arts & Sciences Research Computing (RC) remains current in applying best policy
standards of file storage and backup infrastructure (including both onsite and offsite redundant back-up),
updating and expanding when required. Its primary role in all sectors of Faculty of Arts & Sciences
research ensures long-term preservation of the Project’s holdings and institutional stability if chosen as the
webhosting venue in the long-term.
Estimated costs: If pay services such as Amazon Web Services or professional/custom versions
of some open-source APIs eventually prove necessary, most are low-cost, high-function services with
costs that ranging in hundreds of dollars as opposed to thousands. As fiscal items, then, these fall under
the category of small-scale maintenance costs that can be budgeted as annual overhead. Accommodating
them thus falls under the Giza Project’s ongoing fundraising activities, which include grants, private
philanthropy, and perhaps eventually turning to the tech sector as our development of content for mobile-
VR peripheral hardware continues. Applications under development may have some revenue-generating
potential. Additionally, availability of internal Harvard student participation with the Giza Project will
help will keep broader work going at a relatively cost-effective pace. Comprehensive overhauls of Digital
Giza would, of course, require substantial funds on the scale attainable mainly through grants or
significant private/corporate funding, both of which will continue to be options for the Giza Project.

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