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INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | | DECEMBER 29, 2000 FROM LE MONDE INTERACTIF Probing Egypt's Ancient Secrets with Tech Gear In the city of Alexandria, archeologists are using computers, cyber links, and 3-D imaging to preserve the past
Fortunately, there are groups like the Center for Alexandrian Studies (CEA), which specializes in emergency digs just before construction projects begin. And thanks to an Information Age arsenal of technological tools, archeological teams are bringing new levels of accuracy to their hurried explorations. LOST AND FOUND. For the past two years, France Télécom has been working with the CEA, which is headed by Jean-Yves Empereur, to develop databases and programs that enrich the work of Alexandria's archeologists. While the voluminous topographical database for Alexandria that Empereur and his colleagues have assembled over the years will soon be integrated into the center's intranet system, other features like 3-D imaging are already sharpening archeologists' expertise and helping to remove the guesswork from their decisions.  Equipped with Webcams, virtual-reality glasses, and on-site computers, archeologists can transmit what they see at excavation sites to distant colleagues, even beaming signals from beneath the waters of Alexandria Harbor. "On emergency digs, you have to consider the urgency of the situation, which includes the need to rapidly exchange information...This creates innovative possibilities for communication tools," explains Christian Licoppe, who heads the new technologies and ergonomics laboratory at France Télécom's research institute, CNET. And innovation is certainly not lacking. Four different locations in Alexandria -- the CEA headquarters, two archeology sites, and the Shallalat warehouse, where the thousand-or-so objects found each year are stored -- are linked by Ethernet, which offers connection speeds of 128 kilobits per second. The 3-D technology at some computer stations also allows archeologists to create realistic images of Alexandria as it exists today and compare the city's current layout with its outline at various points in the past. TOMB WITH A VIEW. Another advantage of 3-D is the ability to examine artifacts with colleagues located elsewhere. A newly discovered vase found in the Gabbari tomb just to the southwest of the city, for example, recently was reviewed at the Shallalat warehouse while its 3-D image, framed from eight different angles, was shared with a colleague at headquarters. The experts' conclusion: After examining decorative motifs and discussing the possible origins of the clay from which it was made, the team was able to make a speedy and informed decision about how the vase should be cataloged and classified. That's only the start of the light that technology is shedding on a hidden world. Decked out with a computer, Webcam, and virtual-reality glasses, Maria, an archeologist recently picked over a site near an ancient road that once led travelers to the city now known as Aboukir. Looking at what appear to be medieval foundations, the archeologist spotted what might once have been a well or domestic water tank. Through her glasses, Maria sees what she films as the scene is transmitted to the computer on the desk of her colleague, Francis, in his office. Intrigued by what he is seeing, Francis tells Maria to redirect the focus so that he can examine the gutters leading to the long-buried water source. Nor do archeologists have to remain above ground -- or water -- in order to communicate. A startup has recently patented a technology that allows divers to receive a message by biting down on their mouthpiece. A blinking light lets them know they have a call that can be piped to the ocean floor via wires from a receiver buoy floating overhead. France Télécom is currently working to eliminate the voice wire and replace it with either ultrasonics or microelectronic signals. ANCIENT MYSTERIES, MODERN WONDERS. Because Egyptian Internet connections are slow and power outages common, archeologists make sure not to become entirely dependent on the new technologies. Some skeptics even wonder if the high-tech wizardry is even necessary. But as one of the Alexandria archeologists, Patricia, argued: "Archeologists...destroy in order to find what lies beneath and describe what they see using visual memory." That being the case, any instruments that can help them remember and record what they are doing must be viewed as extremely worthwhile. Other archeologists have seen direct benefits that justify their enthusiasm. Isabelle, an architect and archeologist who specializes in water tanks, explained how she was able to make a winning case for delving deeper into a particular excavation by basing her case on her own on-site drawings and information she retrieved from the intranet database. Empereur, who was working at a different location, reviewed her findings and gave his approval. There's no telling what might still be hiding under the ground in Alexandria. But if technology continues to help guide the way, resurrecting the past may be just a click away.  By Corinne Manoury Translated by Inka Resch  | | |
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