Google Offers High-Tech Dive into the History of Ancient Egypt

We can talk forever about Egyptian antiquities. In fact, between the anticipated opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum and the seemingly bottomless well of discoveries in Saqqara recently, it feels like we HAVE been talking about them forever. But at some point you'd want to do more than just listen to us blabber on about them all day, don't you? Even if you can't make it to one of Egypt's many new museums, you'll want to be able to dive deep into the ruins, turn the artefacts over in your hands, and learn all about the Egyptologists that you never knew about that brought all this to light. And thanks to technology, you can.

Google Arts & Culture has partnered up with the American Research Center in Egypt to bring Egyptian history to your screens, and by that we mean, they actually bring Egypt to you. Their augmented reality features let you walk into the Tomb of Menna, lounge in a Roman villa, observe the inner workings of a Mamluk mosque, or - the classic - stand at the bottom of the Giza Pyramids. And with each place you visit, there are opportunities to learn more: who is Menna, what's up with his tomb, and why did they try to erase his face from the murals? And see those birds on the walls of the Roman villa - what's up with those?

And when you're done exploring the artworks of Coptic monasteries and exploring the map of Historic Cairo, you can hear straight from the Egyptologists themselves to learn all about how these mysteries have been uncovered.

You can go exploring on artsandculture.google.com, or download the app on iOS and Android.