You can experience the Karnak Virtual Reality model on your desktop computer by loading it into Google Earth. If you do not already have Google Earth installed on your computer you can download it here and follow the installation instructions.
To view the Karnak model in Google Earth, right-click the download link to the right, select ‘Save Target As …’, and save the KML file to your desktop. Double-click on the downloaded KML file to launch Google Earth and open the file. In the ‘Places’ section of the left sidebar, double-click the ‘Karnak-web’ entry. Make sure that the layer “3D buildings” is unchecked in the layers panel on the left sidebar. Google allows user-created models to be posted on their satellite imagery, and these will obscure the UCLA Karnak model.
Once Google Earth has navigated to the site of Karnak you can improve the performance of the model by shifting the time slider in the upper right corner to 201 BCE. This will cache the model for all time periods. Please allow a few minutes for the many phases to load.
To trace the development of the temple from its earliest phase in the Middle Kingdom (1950 BCE) through the Greco-Roman Period (31 BCE), move the time slider from left to right. This will allow you to see the development of Karnak as subsequent kings added, modified, and destroyed structures. Please note that this version of our model serves primarily to show chronological change, and its interactions are more restricted than the model documented in the videos available in the Experience Karnak section of the website.
Need more help? Go to the Frequently Asked Questions page.
Download Google Earth KML file of Karnak model