Zodiac signs discovered in ancient Egyptian temple (6 photos)

Specialists of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities jointly with archaeologists from the University of Tübingen (Germany) restoration in the temple of Esna and found reliefs on the ceiling depicting signs of the zodiac against the sky. The temple is 2200 years old. Centuries-old layer of dirt soot and bird droppings made it impossible to find these amazing paintings before.





The ancient city of Esna in southern Egypt was one of the centers Coptic Christianity and in ancient times was called Latopolis (from the Greek. "lates", perch).

Built over 2 thousand years ago, the Esna temple is also known like the temple of Khnum; it is dedicated to the Egyptian god-creator who blinded clay man on a potter's wheel. It is the creator of all things, guardian of the floods of the Nile and god of fertility. The construction of the temple began in 186 BC and ended around 250 AD. All that's left of structures is a large hall with 24 columns.



On the ceiling of an ancient temple, scientists have discovered a pale blue a background symbolizing the sky, and on it are relief images of signs zodiac, planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Mars), stars and constellations that used to measure time.





Such images for Egyptian temples are quite rare and are unique because the system of zodiac signs was used in Babylonian astronomy and was brought to Egypt by the Greeks during the time of the Ptolemies (the dynasty of the rulers of Egypt in the 4th-1st centuries BC - in the era of Hellenism). WITH Since then, the signs of the zodiac have gained popularity and began to appear in ancient Egyptian texts related to astrology - for example, horoscopes. They decorated tombs and sarcophagi.

This was told by Christian Leitz, director of the department Egyptology at the University of Tübingen. He also added that the find very rare. In addition to Esna, only two surviving examples of such temple decorations.



In addition to the zodiac signs in the temple of Esna were discovered images of hybrid creatures - snakes with a ram's head, birds with a head a dog with a tail in the form of a snake's head and four wings, snake-man, as well as individual flying and crawling snakes.



Thanks to the restoration, the reliefs have become brighter and clearer, but the work is not over yet.