The Rosetta Stone in 3D… and in VR
Amateur decipherers will be delighted. At the end of July, the British Museum published on Sketchfab the 3D model of the famous Rosetta Stone, which has been conserved by the venerable London institution since 1802. A bit of history: After being discovered in the Nile Delta by a soldier of Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Campaign in Egypt in 1799, this fragmentary stone engraved with a hieroglyphic text translated into Greek later enabled French Egyptologist Champollion to decipher the ancient language of the Pharoahs.
3D model of the Rosetta Stone on Sketchfab:
In 2015, a first 3D model of the famous stone had been rendered during a “scanathon” initiated by Jonathan Beck, founder of Scan the World, a project to digitize artworks from around the world through 3D scans.
Recently, the museum had already uploaded 3D scans of more than 200 artworks from its collections, including major archeological pieces such as the iconic viking figurines of the Lewis chessmen, a bust of Alexander the Great and a gladiator helmet. Accompanying the 3D files, audio commentaries offer docent-like background information and details about the pieces. Sketchfab provides a bonus option to view any of these models in VR—for the armchair Indiana Jones in you.
Bust of Alexander the Great on Sketchfab: