Press and user comments

User Comments

It was a great pleasure to receive the first volume of the "Treasures". It is fascinating! I received the CD yesterday, thank you very much. May I congratulate you on a really excellent product.

I received yesterday my copy of the CD-Rom Egyptian Treasures in Europe vol.1. It is really marvellous: my best compliments.

Just a brief email to say that the CD "Egyptian Treasures in Europe" is terrific. My congratulations to all those who made it possible

I just received the cd rom yesterday. Like the combination of booklet and cd cover. Can't wait for Volume 2. Thanks.

It's as simple as ABC… Extremely good value for amateur and professional alike... Dirk Huyghe, Egyptian Editor of Scientific American Discovering Archaeology

Having now received my Egyptian Treasures CD and looking it over, I have to tell you and all your staff that it is truly a monumental, fantastic achievement! Bravo to all of you! Everyone here is very impressed. Peter Manualian (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

I have purchased the first volume and I look forward to seeing the others. It's a wonderful object to learn and enjoy the wonderful artifacts of European Museums. I am waiting with many impatience for the second CD.

I am very enthusiastic about this CD-ROM; the quality of the images is most impressive. The information concerning the different objects leaves nothing to be desired and is considerably more extensive than the information you get in the museums themselves.

I am delighted! Please send me all volumes that have been published so far. Besides I want to receive all volumes that will be published in future promptly after release! Many thanks again for the wonderful representations from the history of Ancient Egypt.

I would like to tell you that I passed many enjoyable hours with Egyptian Treasures volume 1. After that I have visited twice the collection of the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam, and I did it with new eyes. I hope to visit the Egpytian collection in Brussels soon.

Press Comments

On website of the Flemish Society of History Teachers (VVLG), we already introduced the first CD-ROM of the series 'Egyptian Treasures in Europe' in a summary fashion. Of course, an ambitious and prestigious project of this kind deserves better. All the more since we have every reason to expect that the ongoing realisation of the Champollion project will turn the series into the digital rival of the multifaceted Description de l'Egypte from the beginning of the 19th century, being equally monumental in style and just as pioneering in character (The Description contains the results of the excavations by French scholars during Napoleon's military expedition to Egypt in 1798. It was published between 1809 and 1822; 9 tomes of text and -above all- 11 large volumes of prints.). The difference is that the project's material is presented by means of lightweight CD-ROM's instead of extremely heavy folio volumes.

The CD-ROMs of the series all have the same structure; therefore we think it fitting to present Volume 2 to you in some detail, as exemplary of the whole. After all, this volume is dedicated to the Egyptian collection of our own Royal Museums for Art and History in Brussels' Jubilee Park and is of interest to history teachers in more respects than one.

To view the contents of the CD-ROM, you need Quicktime 3. This programme is included free of charge and it installs itself quickly and easily in a few minutes only; all you need to do is to follow the step-by-step instructions on your screen.

Before you start, a necessary caution: this CD-ROM has no unnecessary frills. No space has been wasted on superficial entertainment and its storage capacity has been used to the max. Yet it is scientifically and didactically extremely useful!

The opening screen shows the European stars and a number of national flags. When activated, these flags show you the CD-ROM's title in the seven languages available. A nice detail is that the Belgium flag gives access to both the Dutch and the French versions.

Let's say you click on 'Dutch'. At the top of your screen a number of photographs will appear, with a clickable menubar underneath each of them. The last symbol is a '?', which activates the help function, furnishing you with a clear explanation of the CD-ROM's structure.

The button 'Objects' gives access to the 1500 objects on the CD-ROM. We will have occasion to speak of this function later on.

The button 'Guides' takes you to 20 objects with spoken commentary. While listening, you are shown the objects from different angles via a slide-show. To give you an idea of what is on offer: the funerary model of a granary, a shabti box from the 21st Dynasty, an Isis-Aphrodite fertility statue from the Graeco-Roman Period, or the exquisite limestone relief of Queen Tiye (a world-class object!).

The button 'Themes' gives access to eight 'thumbnails' with the following themes: 'Arts and Crafts', 'Jewellery and Amulets', 'Daily Life', 'Script', 'Life after Death', 'Personal Piety', 'Temple Cult', and 'Kingship'. Now, let's click on 'Script' for example. First we get a short and well-written text, some words of which are highlighted in red, forming links to the glossary: for instance 'papyrus' or 'writer'. These texts, as indeed all texts on the CD-ROM, can be printed (including photographs) or copied to your notepad (without the photos). Beneath the main description of the theme, you will find a list of related terms (also linked) and a list of relevant objects, complete with illustration and textual commentary. For instance, clicking on 'Writing Equipment' yields several 'thumbnails' of objects, which in their turn can be enlarged by clicking on them. Of some of the objects different sides are shown from different angles if you click on the 'Rotate' symbol. One writer's palette can be viewed from the front and from the back; another both closed (as it is in the museum's showcase) and opened - interesting for the students, certainly, but not only for them....

The button 'Views' offers you a 360° view of some of the Museums' rooms. In each room, a rotating object can be clicked on and viewed from all sides.

The button 'Glossary' gives you access to the illustrated and extensive glossary.

Via the button 'Information' you get an explanation of the Jubilee Park Museum's history, as well as the collection's (which is much younger than I thought) and the Champollion Project in general. Here you will also find some useful e-mail addresses and important URLs.

Finally, the button 'Exit' closes the CD-ROM and the *-symbol takes you back to the starting screen.

OK, let's now return to the 'Objects' button. The menubar underneath the picture allows you to narrow your choice (it is rather useless to click on 'All objects' and view the 1500 objects in their given order). So, out of several categories, you make your first choice, say 'Architecture' or 'Cult Objects'. Then you can define your choice even more and make a further selection from 'Materials', 'Periods' or 'Sites' (using a map).

Obviously, the more precise your selection is, the less hits you will get. Another example: suppose we want to know what the museum has to offer regarding 5th dynasty architecture. Our search yields 5 hits, in the form of 'thumbnails'. And lo and behold, everytime you move your cursor across a thumbnail, you see the object in question's inventory number. Let's say I click on the thumbnail showing the mastaba of Neferirtef, in which I am particularly interested. As a result, I get an enlarged photograph with written description, in the text of which there are a number of links, marked in red. A link gives me the opportunity to pay a quick visit to Saqqara, where I am given a general description of the site and a large panorama, which can be rotated 360°. I then close the screen and return to the mastaba I selected, which I can view from three different sides by using the 'Rotate' icon. During the whole operation, the mode I am currently using is marked in red (in this case 'Description). The other modes are 'Information', 'Hieroglyphs' (in this case inactive), 'Bibliography' (of the object under view) and 'Advanced' (providing you with a complete Egyptological record). In the case you have selected an object where the 'Hieroglyphs' icon is active, this mode will show you, in the first place, the hieroglyphs themselves, then the Egyptological transcription, and then the translation. This arrangement could seem to be impractical, since the screen showing the hieroglyphs is closed when viewing the translation. Yet there is a practical reason for this, which is particularly important when dealing with longer texts: each subsequent screen can be saved in a text-document and printed in its entirety.

A rare phenomenon in this kind of publications, this CD-ROM, just like the first one in the series, can be used on different levels. Even though the general descriptions may be too simple for Egyptologists, they are sure to find information of interest to them. The CD-ROM caters for serious amateurs, but it can also be understood by twelve-year-olds. Via the numerous cross-references and links, you very quickly get an incredibly complete and richly illustrated introduction to Egyptian art and culture. To accomplish this in one single publication would be inconceivable if we were dealing with a printed medium; it would require several specialised publications.

How can you make the best use of this CD-ROM in your lessons? There are several possibilities. In the first place, there is a special offer via the VVLG (Flemish Society of History Teachers), which means that individual students can purchase the CD-ROM for reduced price. A second method requires special software allowing the students to surf at leisure via individual screens, using a single CD-ROM which runs on a central computer. In both cases, you form groups of 3 students maximum.

- Exploration phase. Open the CD-ROM. What is to be found behind the flags? What do you see on the second screen when you activate the main buttons?

- Working via 'Themes'. Choose a particular theme. (Attention teachers: take care that all themes get their turn). Copy the text to a text document. Choose two or three links of words/names/concepts which you would like to see explained. Choose, from the list of 'Relevant objects' at the end of the main text, two or three examples, which you then study and describe in short. (Teacher: depending on the technical possibilities, you can have the text copied or printed. In the last case, the students also will have the photograph of the objects chosen.)

- Working with Search Assignments. Choose the button 'Objects' and define your search coordinates, for example 'Architecture' and 'Fifth Dynasty'. How many hits do you get? Choose one. Copy the text. Follow two or three links. Take note if you come across something special, for example a panoramic view of Saqqara, Giza or the Step Pyramid.

It becomes really interesting if you have the chance of teaming up with colleagues from other departments, for instance the Dutch Language teacher or the Technology teacher, since as a History teacher you have only a single hour of class each week! In that case, the search assignments can be carried out during a computer class and the results can be presented during a Dutch Language lesson, possibly with the aid of a computer or projection on a large screen (which could be interesting for your colleague too!).

Finally, you should use the CD-ROM as a preparation for your visit to the Museums in the Jubilee Park itself! […]

Jos Martens: http://www.vvlg.be/start8.htm (Translation from Dutch: Henny van Immerzeel).

An unimaginable number of Egyptian archaeological treasures are hidden away - perfectly conceiled in museums and private collections around the world. Europe alone has over 500 public collections of Egyptian antiquities that hold about 1.5 million artifacts. Most have never been reported and remain largely unknown. Some major European collections possess Egyptian art that is widely known. But who has ever heard of the exquisite New Kingdom relief of Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep III, at the Royal Museums for Art and History in Brussels? [...] The 11-volumes of the CD-ROM series Egyptian Treasures in Europe , the first volume of which was just released, spotlight medium-size, European collections. The introductory volume features 1,000 "Highlights" from 10 Egyptian collections in Holland, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal, England, Spain, and Austria. The next 10 volumes will each be restricted to a single collection and will contain about 1,500 objects each. If all goes according to plan, color pictures and descriptions of about 15,000 Egyptian antiquities will be available by 2001. [...] The opening page of this CD-Rom lets the user select one of seven European languages and offers five easy-to-use search criteria: museum, object, material, period and site. You'll also find a guided tour with spoken commentary, panoramic views of museum rooms, and an illustrated glossary of ancient Egyptology. The viewer also has the ability to rotate objects throughout the tour. [...] Egyptian Treasures in Europe should appeal to amateur and professional alike. Discovering Archaeology, 17-09-1999

The cd-rom Egyptian Treasures in Europe, Utrecht Egyptologist Professor Dirk van der Plas' first commercial product, takes the viewer on a breathtaking journey past a thousand highlights from ten Egyptian collections in Europe [...] U-blad, 23-10-99

The databases of this first CD are [...] impressive for the wealth and richness of useful info they provide. I think that they are a real must for everyone; not only they are updated and recently checked, but they are mostly complete. The photos are high-quality ones and provided in three different sizes (a small one, a medium one and a full screen one). [...] Taking into account that this is an introductory first CD for the whole series one can imagine that the following ones will be of primary importance for any kind of serious research. Not to mention the role that this series will play in the overall impact of Egyptology on people in the years to come. The CCER is to be praised and thanked for its efforts in this project, for it has a very high cultural value which goes beyond the CDs themselves; this project in my opinion can open a new era in cooperation between museums and Egyptologists all over the world that was not possible a few years ago. [...] I for one am waiting for the next CDs of the series with eagerness. And let us hope that the project will soon be extended to other museums in Europe and outside Europe as well. Federico Rocchi, Egyptologist's Electronic Forum

Ancient Egyptian history becomes almost tangible on the cd-rom Egyptian Treasures in Europe. [...] Egyptian Treasures in Europe is a cd-rom which brings Ancient Egyptian history to life. [...] An interactive encyclopedia as it is supposed to be: serious information coupled with graphics and magnificent illustrations. [...] The cd-rom caters for amateur and professional alike; the information given is both comprehensible and thorough. De Gelderlander, 06-11-99

The digital achive is [...] versatile, flexible, and very beautifully presented. Cairo Times, 25-11/08-12-99

An excellent use of the possibilities this new medium has to offer [...] the possibilities of this new medium have been exploited to the full. [...] The photo's are of exceptional quality. [...] For every lover of Ancient Egypt the purchase if this series is a must ... Trouw, 04-12-99

This CD is extremely user-friendly.[...] This succesful CD-ROM allows you to bring a substantial part of the most beautiful works of art in the European collections directly onto your screen. Kemet (9/1), January 2000

The numerous images are excellent and have been calibrated with care [...] the data given per object are clear and precise. Nothing has been forgotten: inventory number, material, provenance, dating, bibliography. And to top it all - which is unique- the text of the object is given in hieroglyphic signs (with the aid of the WinGlyph textprocessor, a CCER product), in transcription and in translation; a real luxury but very useful nonetheless. This product can honestly be recommended to professionals and amateurs alike: there is something for everyone. Jean-Luc Bovot in: Egypte, Afrique & Orient No. 15, november-december 1999

This project's greatest value lies in the cooperation and the tremendous amount of preparation it must have taken to start it off: if in doing so a framework of preliminary conditions and agreements has been put into place which allows the implementation of an international standard, this means that work of titanic proportions has been accomplished. Museumvisie, March 2000/1

Technology can be somewhat daunting, and, not being a person who indulges in playing games on my computer, the strange slot for the insertion of CDs has remained, until now, virtually unused. All that has recently changed: I have been fully aware of the potential for the uses of CD-ROMs for the storage and accessing of information, but although there have been a number of interesting CDs available which have provided information about Egypt, the prices were initially prohibitive and the contents sometimes of dubious value.(...) The series is complied by professional Egyptologists and are EASY to use (believe me, if I can operate the system, then ANYONE can!). (...) The first CD-ROM is great fun to use, the images are superb (some can even be rotated) and the information excellent. For study and for finding objects of particular interest, the system is superb and should prove invaluable to any student. Having visited many of the collections and been unable to get a guide book in English, this information is also most welcome and perhaps long overdue. I have no doubt that CD-ROMS will be used even more in the future…and if this is the way forward,then I can't wait for the future publications this way and for the planned editions in this series in particular. If you have a computer and have an interest in Egypt, then DO get hold of the first CD of the "Highlights". Bob Partridge, Ancient Egypt, July/August 2000