2,200-year-old Prehistoric Zodiac Paintings at Egyptian Temple of Esna Have Been Uncovered During a Restoration Project; How Important Were These Then?

During a restoration project, researchers were able to uncover unique zodiac paintings filling the walls and ceilings of the ancient Egyptian temple of Esna.

Prehistoric Zodiac Paintings at the Temple of Esna

According to Live Science, the researchers had to thoroughly clean the artworks. Several restored pieces include depictions of planets, including those of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. There were also images of constellations and stars that the ancient Egyptians used to help gauge time. The researchers were also able to conserve prehistoric images of crocodiles, snakes, and hybrid creatures, like a snake that had the head of a ram.

Though the researchers already knew about the zodiac and other images within the temple, the conservation and cleaning enabled them to view the artworks better. The restoration project also revealed the presence of inscriptions that were previously unknown.

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Importance of Zodiacs in Ancient Egypt

According to a press release about these findings, Christian Leitz, a professor from the University of Tübingen, says that zodiac representations are extremely rare in Egyptian temples. Only a few, such as the temple at Dendera, had zodiacs on them.

Zodiacs were part of ancient Babylonian astronomy and did not appear across Egypt before the Ptolemaic period.

The Ptolemies were ruler dynasties that had a lineage that traced back to one of the generals of Alexander the Great, who ruled over Egypt from 304 B.C. to 30 B.C. The ancient Greeks could have been the ones who introduced zodiacs to ancient Egypt.

After they were introduced, zodiacs became popular across ancient Egypt. They were used for decorating sarcophagi and private tombs. Zodiacs were also vital when it came to astrological texts, such as horoscopes that can be found embedded on sherds of pottery.

Leitz mentioned to Live Science that the zodiacs that were incorporated in the temple of Esna are similar to present-day ones.

Yahoo! Life reports that the released photos show that the images are much clearer compared to how they were before the restoration, according to Juan Antonio Belmonte Avilés, who is an astronomer at the IAC (Institute of Astrophysics in the Canary Islands) in Spain and who has done intense astronomy research on ancient Egypt.

Leitz mentioned that the team is currently analyzing the newly discovered inscriptions.

Restoration Project at the Temple of Esna

The temple of Esna is situated around 37 miles south of Luxor. Archaeologist Hisham El-Leithy from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities co-leads the team. Ahmed Eman, a conservation expert from the ministry, directed the restoration endeavors.

Prior to this, archaeologists on board the temple restoration project at the Temple of Esna were able to unveil 46 depictions of ancient Egyptian goddesses. The Esna temple is dedicated to Khnum, an ancient Egyptian deity associated with water and fertility.

Check out more news and information on Ancient Egypt in Science Times.