For the first time, a team of restorers from the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt has revealed a series of colorful paintings on the ceiling of the Hall of Columns on the south side of the Temple of Esnawhich constitute a complete representation of the signs of the zodiac.
The discovery was made by Egyptian and German experts, during a project to record, document and restore the original colors of the temple.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, pointed out that these paintings had never been detected during previous projects in the temple. He also stressed the significance of the find, especially since there is no complete depiction of the sight of the constellations in ancient Egypt except for two examples in the Temple of Denderain Qena Governorate.
As indicated by the researchers, the constellations related to the zodiac They were brought to Egypt by the Greeks. and later became popular, so they believe that this find in the temple, dedicated to the worship of jnumit is very special.
Representation of Sagittarius and Scorpio in the Temple of Esna. Credit: Ahmed Emam / Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Christian Leitzfrom the University of Tübingen (Germany), indicated that “The zodiac itself is part of Babylonian astronomy and does not appear in Egypt until the Ptolemaic period”.
Paintings recently discovered in an Egyptian temple
Some images of the 12 zodiac signs discovered They are a bit different from modern zodiac pictures, but each zodiac sign is fully represented in the relief paintings.
Several stars and constellations have been discovered the ancient egyptians used to measure timeas well as the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.
A number of scenes depicting Egyptian deities and animals, including snakes and crocodiles, have also been discovered.
Some mythological creatures in high relief have been discovered in the temple. Credit: Ahmed Emam / Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
As well as complex creature scenes like a ram-headed serpent or a crocodile-headed bird, snake tail and four wingsas well as additional inscriptions in black ink with the names of divine beings.
“The zodiac was used to decorate private tombs and sarcophagi and was of great importance in astrological texts, such as horoscopes found inscribed on pottery shards,” said researcher Dr Daniel von Recklinghausen. Tubingen University.
He temple of esna, is located 60 km south of Luxor, Upper Egypt. Of the original temple, only the vestibule (called the pronaos) remains, which is complete and very well preserved.
Temple of Esna.
The colors, paintings, reliefs and inscriptions newly discovered on the ceiling, they were covered with a layer of earth and soot for almost 20 centuries, so they were barely recognizable because of the dirt. Archaeologists have worked hard to restore it to its former glory.
Only time will tell how many more clues about ancient Egypt archaeologists can unearth.
References: Science Alert/Live Science.
A publication of Science of mystery. All rights reserved. – Redistribution and redistribution of this content without prior permission is expressly prohibited. Site protected by Safe Creative.
Thanks for reading us. We invite you to follow us on our Facebook, to be aware of all the news that we publish daily. You can also join our community at Telegram. We are waiting for you!