Its Gobeklitepe

Inspiration:

Gobeklitepe is an archaeological wonder, the "zero point of history" and one of the world’s most mesmerizing archaeological finds. For people who did not have the chance to visit this place, we were inspired by the idea of experiencing there with AR.

What it does:

Gobeklitepe is located in Şanlıurfa, Turkey, it dates back to 10.000 B.C., (much more older than the Pyramids and the Stonehenge) and accepted as the oldest known temple on earth. The discovery of Göbeklitepe caused a canonical question for the human history, was the settled life passed through the temple, not agriculture. The site consists of 21 spherical elliptical structures, each holding great T-shaped pillars, reaching up to 6 meters high. These columns have lots of carvings and engravings, depicting animal, human and abstract figures. The carvings are accepted as one of the very first examples of sculpting and plastic arts. Users will not only get to know and learn about this historical area but also go on a magical adventure with the technology of Snap AR.

How we built it:

In the lens, where the experience is started with the back camera, there is a chance to examine the T-shaped monolithic obelisks, one of the most distinctive features of Gobeklitepe. However, while clockwise movement is preferred within the structures, the features of the glyphs on the central monoliths are associated with the sky. In the project, the starry sky with different figures stands out. The project, where both visual and auditory experiences are delivered, provides users with some interesting information about Gobeklitepe.

Challenges we ran into:

The biggest challenge was to model this area as close as possible to the original with high-resolution textures.

Accomplishments that we're proud of:

We have worked hard on the user experience and ensured that the result was both educational and memorable.

What we learned:

We learned that AR can be used for cultural and educational purposes.

What's next for Gobeklitepe:

We see the Göbeklitepe lens as just the beginning of a digital archeology library. There are many historical sites and structures around the world. By using AR technology, we can enable people to experience these regions without going there. Our goal is to create digital versions of many historical structures and archaeological sites such as Gobeklitepe and to provide users with an instructive and impressive experience.