2,200-Year-Old Temple in Egypt Reveals Painting That Depicts Ancient New Year’s Celebrations

A team of researchers restoring artwork on the ceiling of the Temple of Esna has stumbled upon a remarkable discovery. They uncovered an ancient painting of the Egyptian deities depicted at the New Year's scene.

Historical Roof Artwork

The paintings show the Egyptian gods Orion (also called Sah), Sothis, and Anukis on neighboring boats, with the sky goddess Nut swallowing the evening sky above them. This scene depicts a mythology that details the Egyptian New Year, according to the University of Tübingen in Germany, which joined the restoration project with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

In this scene, Orion represents the constellation of the same name, while Sothis represents Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, also called Alpha Canis Majoris. This brilliant star was invisible in the night sky in ancient Egypt for 70 days of the year before becoming visible again in the east.

The day Sirius reappears on the horizon marks the ancient Egyptian New Year. It also coincides with the seasonal flooding of the Nile River, which the ancient Egyptians believed to be about 100 days after the appearance of Sirius. Meanwhile, the goddess Anukis was attributed to the receding of flood waters in the Nile.

The New Year's artwork is the latest of several discoveries at the Temple of Esna. The paintings were obscured by two thousand years' worth of soot, grime, and bird droppings. Scientists have been cleaning the ceiling for the past five years, which unveils a variety of imagery. These include mythological deities, astronomical constellations, depictions of the ancient zodiac, and over 200 previously unknown inscriptions.

The Temple of Esna was built around 2,200 years ago and underwent a major renovation under Roman rule when it gained control of Egypt 2,000 years ago. Unlike other temples, this one is not dedicated to a single god.

The experts finished cleaning the ceiling and restored many other paintings. One of these artworks depicts a lion's body with four wings and a ram's head. According to an inscription, the depicted images represent the "south wind," associated with scorching heat.

Since the ceiling restoration is complete, the research team plans to clean the temple's columns, walls, and pronaos or front area. This project is expected to reveal new colors and details of images that can be faintly seen through the grime.

Analysis of the temple's remains enables scholars to gain better insight into the meaning and purpose of the decorations.

Ancient Egyptian Calendar

The ancient Egyptians used a lunar calendar until they adopted their version of the solar calendar. The exact origin of the ancient Egyptian calendar remains unknown, but experts believe it started around 5,000 years ago.

The lunar calendar was used for religious rituals and festivals. The ancient Egyptians used a solar calendar composed of 365 days per year for their daily activities. Each year was divided into three seasons corresponding to the agricultural cycles.

Each season was divided into four months; each contained three weeks, and one week comprised ten days. The new year begins with the Akhet season when the Nile floods and the land is ready for farming. It is followed by the season of growing called Peret and the season of harvest known as Shmw. The ancient Egyptian New Year would occur every mid-July on our modern calendar.