I 3D scanned the tunnels inside the Maya Pyramid Temples at Copan
With these 3d captures, you can explore the 4km tunnel system that archaeologists created inside the temples at Copan that are closed to the public. The tunnels are often flooded by hurricanes and damaged by other natural forces--and collapsed on me and my Matterport scanner more than once--so this is a permanent record of how they appeared in 2022-23. Unlike Egyptian pyramids, the Maya built their temples layer by layer outward, so to understand them, researchers tunneled into the structures to understand the earlier phases of construction. I arranged the guided versions of the virtual…
In plain words
This project offers 3D virtual tours of a 4-kilometer tunnel system inside Maya pyramid temples at Copan, Honduras, which are normally closed to the public. The tunnels, created by archaeologists to study the temples' layered construction, are vulnerable to hurricane flooding and structural collapse. The 3D scans capture the tunnels as they appeared in 2022-23, preserving access to significant sites including the Rosalila temple and the tomb of the city's founder. Users can explore guided tours arranged chronologically through these otherwise inaccessible archaeological spaces.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
With these 3d captures, you can explore the 4km tunnel system that archaeologists created inside the temples at Copan that are closed to the public. The tunnels are often flooded by hurricanes and damaged by other natural forces--and collapsed on me and my Matterport scanner more than once--so this is a permanent record of how they appeared in 2022-23. Unlike Egyptian pyramids, the Maya built their temples layer by layer outward, so to understand them, researchers tunneled into the structures to understand the earlier phases of construction. I arranged the guided versions of the virtual tours in a rough chronology, moving from the highest to the lowest and oldest areas: the hieroglyphic stairway composing the largest Maya inscription anywhere, the Rosalila temple that was buried fully intact, and finally the tomb of the Founder of the city, Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ. I've been working to build on top of the Matterport SDK with Three.js--and then reusing the data in Unreal for a desktop experience or rendering for film (coming soon to PBS). Blog about process: https://blog.mused.com/what-lies-beneath-digitally-recording... Major thanks to the Matterport team for providing support with data alignment and merging tunnels while I was living in the village near site.
More life & fun this month
the category →- TL
Life & fun · 10d ago · louisabraham.github.io
Photosynthesis fires two of your iPhone
Life & fun · 28d ago · photosynthesis.camera
SoloUno▲310Take control of hair pulling, nail biting & skin picking
Life & fun · 28d ago · solouno.io
Scroll through all 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 reachable Rubik's Cube permutations.
Life & fun · 26d ago · everycube.alen.is
Hi HN, I built Eigendrum, a web tool that solves the 2D wave equation for arbitrary shapes so you can hear what they sound like as drums. How it works: * Solves -∇²u = λu using finite element analysis (Kφ = λMφ) on a triangle mesh. * Validated to <0.1% error against closed-form solutions for circles (Bessel zeros) and rectangles. * Sound model factors in strike location, Rayleigh damping, and mallet width. * Includes Kac drums I & II to demonstrate identical sound spectra from different geometries. * No frameworks, build steps, or dependencies. Repo and tests:…
Life & fun · 27d ago · baselashraf81.github.io
Launched alongside, October 2024
the whole month →
Softr for Notion▲925Turn Notion databases into portals & apps with no code
Dev tools · 2024 · softr.io
One inbox for all your work discussions
Work · 2024 · generalcollaboration.com