Marián Marcis is a surveyor and associate professor of photogrammetry who uses 3D measurement to test long-standing claims about ancient Egyptian stonework. In this episode, we discuss his peer-reviewed experiment in the Aswan quarry, how long the unfinished obelisk would really have taken, the saw marks on the Hordjedef sarcophagus, the famous "overcut" at Karnak, and the symmetry of Ramesses II. We also dive into how photogrammetry works, what it can and cannot tell us, and why a mobile phone is now a serious measuring instrument.
Marián Marčiš:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marian-Marcis-2
https://x.com/mariusderomanu3
The problems of the obelisk revisited article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212054823000292
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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro & Welcome
1:39 - Meeting in person and working together
3:58 - Who is Marián Marcis? Surveyor & photogrammetry specialist
7:28 - Why scan rocks? Marián's first trip to Egypt
13:45 - What is photogrammetry?
39:42 - Scanning Equipment: Cameras and softwares
54:22 - What limits accuracy and alternative scanning techniques
57:52 - Egypt, the unfinished obelisk, scoop marks & the competing theories
1:04:00 - How does the quarrying process look? & Engelbach's experiment
1:13:46 - Röder, Lehner & Kruglyakov studies
1:18:36 - Marián's own experiment in the Aswan quarry
1:24:25 - 15 minutes of quarrying, before & after 3D models
1:33:12 - Hatshepsut's obelisk &final remarks
1:46:18 - Citizen science & the unfinished sarcophagus of Hordjedef
1:51:40 - The circular saw claim
2:03:21 - Karnak's sixth pylon: the saw marks & the "overcut"
2:09:15 - The colossal Ramesses II hand at Karnak & the original statue
2:15:50 - Crown symmetry analysis in Luxor Temple
2:19:17 - The Ramesses head: photogrammetry vs LiDAR vs Luma AI
2:26:18 - The Serapeum box
2:32:24 - Closing thoughts & where to find Marián's work
2:35:00 - Members special & Outro
