Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
In recent years, augmented- and virtual-reality technologies have completely transformed the ways in which we can learn about the past. Whether used to add exciting new dimensions to in-person visits to heritage sites (such as Uist Unearthed’s innovative app focused on Hebridean archaeology; see CA 390) or to transform static museum displays into an interactive adventure (such as the Mary Rose Museum’s Time Detectives game, also featured in CA 390), these initiatives bring long-vanished structures and people back to life in imaginative and engaging ways. They are often, however, still firmly rooted in reality, with participants viewing recreated worlds through their smartphones and never quite escaping their modern surroundings. An attraction that has recently opened at Westfield Stratford City in east London, though, offers a much more immersive approach.
Horizon of Khufu is a virtual-reality adventure centred on the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, and its new London installation joins existing versions in Lyon, Paris, and Shanghai, with another set to open soon in New York. After being equipped with a special backpack and headset (which your short-sighted reviewer is pleased to report fitted comfortably over her glasses, though it is advised that varifocals can affect your viewing experience, so it is best to wear standard lenses during your visit), visitors embark on a 45-minute voyage through a richly detailed world.
Your journey begins at the foot of the Great Pyramid, inside a tent that is being used as a field office by local archaeologists. From the maps hanging on its walls to the slender stream of steam rising from a teapot, this scene is impressively realistic – and it is here that you meet Mona, an archaeologist avatar who will be your earnestly enthusiastic guide for the first portion of the story. She leads you inside the pyramid itself and the adventure truly takes hold.
As you explore the corridors and chambers within the mighty monument, your surroundings feel incredibly real: this is no two-dimensional film playing on the visor of your headset, but a fully realised world where you can walk around freely and the view changes as you turn your head. More than once I found myself ducking as I stooped through a low passageway, or hesitating before taking a big nervous step across a gap in the stone floor, despite knowing deep down that I could not really hit my head or fall. Then (following a twist that I won’t spoil here) the worlds of history and mythology suddenly elide and, in the company of an enigmatic new guide, you find yourself in bright sunlight on the pyramid’s summit.
From this lofty perspective (a dizzying 146m above the ‘ground’), you can enjoy a 360º view of the surrounding funerary complex, scattered with the remains of temples, smaller burial monuments, and the celebrated Sphinx. These are impressive enough in their modern ruined state, but for the final portion of the adventure participants are transported back in time to see the constructions recreated in their original glory, to learn about ancient Egyptian life, and to witness the funeral of Pharaoh Khufu, for whom the Great Pyramid was built.
Innovative illusions
This blend of fact and fantasy is undeniably entertaining, and it is impressive quite how much historical information is woven through the narrative. The whole experience has been designed around excavated evidence and current understanding of ancient Egyptian beliefs and ritual practices, thanks to VR studio Excurio working closely with Professor Peter Der Manuelian – Harvard University Egyptologist and director of the Giza Archives Project – and this wealth of detail never feels dry.
Above all, it is fascinating how VR imagery can ‘trick’ the brain. Although in reality you never leave the ground, there are points in the story where you rise into the air on stone platforms, and travel along the Nile on a boat, and you really do feel like you are moving. At the end of the experience, as staff were helping us to remove our kit, I caught a glimpse of the space that we had just left and was staggered to see that we had spent the whole 45 minutes in one biggish empty room – it had honestly felt like we had taken so many twists and turns, following paths and passageways and entering chambers that had clearly only existed virtually.
Although the headset’s visor obscures your view of the outside world, walking through these imagined spaces always felt completely safe. In every scene, subtle blue outlines on the floor mark out the areas in which you can wander without fear of bumping into anything – within these you can look around corners, admire the scenery, and peek into sarcophagi – and if you do stray too close to a real wall, digital red ‘mesh’ lights up to highlight the obstacle until you move away from it. You are also in no danger of walking into your fellow-travellers, as other people appear as unobtrusive ghostly outlines within the space.
With Horizon of Khufu described on the attraction’s website as being suitable for anyone over the age of eight, the possibilities for technology like this as an educational tool are really exciting – certainly, my inner child is agonisingly envious of the immersive school trips that those born more recently may soon be able to enjoy. Truly, this does feel like the start of a big adventure in terms of how we can experience, and interact with, the past.
Further information:
Tickets cost £45 for adults, or £39 per person for groups of four or more and for under-18s. To book your timed slot and for more details about the experience, visit the website http://www.horizonkheops.com/en.
All images: © Emissive – Excurio
You must be logged in to post a comment.