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Nefertari: Journey to Eternity

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Free Experius VR • CuriosityStream Photogrammetry scan PC VR • Room scale
Released 28 June 2018 • Steam • 92% positive from 236 reviews • Valley of the Queens, Egypt

Nefertari: Journey to Eternity

The tomb of Queen Nefertari is one of the most beautiful in Egypt, and one of the hardest to visit: it is largely closed to protect its fragile paintings. This free experience lets you walk through a photorealistic scan of every chamber by lamplight, with interactive points that explain the art, history, construction and mythology around you.

Developer: Experius VR
Publisher: CuriosityStream
Price: Free on Steam
Subject: History • Ancient Egypt • Art • RE
8.2
/10
XR School Score
Highly Recommended
Free • Stunning photorealistic tomb • Real place few can visit • Interactive history points • Needs a strong PC • 14 GB download
Very positive • Steam 92% of 236
user reviews
Overview

Nefertari: Journey to Eternity is a free virtual reality tour of the tomb of Queen Nefertari, the favourite wife of the pharaoh Ramesses II, who died around 1255 BCE. It was created by Experius VR with the streaming service CuriosityStream and released on Steam on 28 June 2018. The tomb lies in the Valley of the Queens in southern Egypt and covers around 520 square metres of chambers and passages.

To build it, three members of the Experius VR team spent two days inside the tomb capturing it with 3D scanning and thousands of overlapping photographs, a technique called photogrammetry. The result is remarkably lifelike: the painted walls, the ceiling of golden stars and the images of Nefertari with the gods all look as they do in real life, lit by oil lamps and the torch you carry. You move around by teleporting, and interactive points share information about the tomb’s art, history, construction and mythology.

Somewhere Almost No One Can Go The tomb was looted in ancient times, but its paintings survived. After restoration between 1986 and 1992, it has been kept largely closed, because the humidity from visitors’ breath can damage the paintings. Small groups are occasionally admitted at a high price. In VR, every student can stand inside it, look as closely as they like and never put the real paintings at risk.
What Students Can Explore
🎨
Wall paintings
Some of the best preserved painting from ancient Egypt, seen at full scale.
⭐
The starry ceiling
A ceiling covered in painted golden stars, symbolising the night sky.
👁️
Gods and beliefs
Scenes of Nefertari meeting the gods on her journey to the afterlife.
🏛️
How it was built
Information points on the construction and layout of a royal tomb.
Check Your Hardware First This is a detailed, photorealistic experience, so it needs a capable gaming PC (an Intel Core i7 and a GTX 1060 class graphics card as a minimum), a 14 GB download and a room scale play area of at least 2 metres by 1.5 metres. Quest headsets can run it through a PC with Quest Link or Air Link. Install and test it before the lesson.
Nefertari vs a Video Tour
Feature
Nefertari VR
360° video tour
Movement
Walk and teleport freely
Fixed camera positions
Detail
Photogrammetry scan, view up close
Limited by video resolution
Learning
Interactive information points
Narration only
Hardware
Gaming PC and PC VR headset
Phone, tablet or any headset
Curriculum Value
Sense of place
9.6
History content
8.2
Value for money
10
Ease of use
7.5
Hardware accessibility
3.0
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
  • Completely free
  • Photorealistic scan of a real, closed tomb
  • Atmospheric lamplight and handheld torch
  • Interactive points on art, history and beliefs
  • Very positive reviews (92% of 236)
  • Calm and suitable for all ages
Considerations
  • Needs a powerful gaming PC
  • Large 14 GB download
  • Room scale space of 2m by 1.5m
  • No standalone Quest version
  • English only
  • One tomb, so best as a focused lesson
For Teachers: A Virtual Field Trip to Ancient Egypt Nefertari fits the KS2 history study of the achievements of the earliest civilisations, where Ancient Egypt is a popular choice, as well as KS3 history, art lessons on Egyptian painting and RE work on beliefs about death and the afterlife. Give students a mission, such as finding three gods and explaining their role, or sketching one wall scene to research back in class. It also makes a thought provoking case study on heritage and conservation: why should a tomb be closed to visitors, and can a digital copy ever replace the real thing?
Free
Steam • PC VR via SteamVR • Quest via Link or Air Link
Get on Steam → More history apps →
Quick Facts
Developer
Experius VR
Publisher
CuriosityStream
Released
28 June 2018
Price
Free (Steam)
Location
Tomb of Nefertari, Valley of the Queens, Egypt
Steam reviews
Very positive: 92% of 236
Minimum PC
Intel Core i7 • 8 GB RAM • GTX 1060 class
Storage
14 GB
Play area
Room scale, 2m by 1.5m
Language
English
Verdict
Nefertari: Journey to Eternity is one of the finest virtual field trips available, and it costs nothing. Its photorealistic scan of a tomb few people will ever see in person gives students an unforgettable encounter with ancient Egyptian art and belief, and its information points add real substance. It needs a capable PC VR setup and a large download, but for any school teaching Ancient Egypt that has the hardware, it is an essential install.

Gareth Griffiths

Gareth Griffiths is a scientist and the founder of World of Teaching, a free library of over 1,000 teacher made PowerPoints. He set up The XR School to help teachers, schools and parents find virtual and augmented reality apps that genuinely help young people learn, and to give an honest view of what each app teaches, which headsets it needs and what it costs.