Archaeologists restore rare paintings and zodiac signs in Egyptian temple

An Egyptian-German research team discovered new colourful ceiling paintings with preserved depictions of the zodiac in the temple of Esna in Upper Egypt and perfectly restored them. This is only the third work of this type in Egypt; moreover, it is in its original state after restoration.

The Temple of Esna was dedicated to Khnum, the god of the source of the Nile, who made small children out of river mud on a potter's wheel and then implanted them in their mothers' wombs. He was depicted with the head of a ram as the god of fertility. The Egyptians saw him as "Lord of the land of the cataracts, guardian of the springs, giver of water and originator of floods".

Construction of the temple began in 186 BC, but only the antechamber, built during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD), has survived. It is covered with painted inscriptions and reliefs from the bases of the columns to the ceiling. The elaborate decoration of Claudian's building took 200 years to complete, and was finished during the reign of Emperor Decius in 250 AD.

It has survived the centuries thanks to its excellent location in the centre of the city, although it has been rebuilt for various purposes over time. The area was also used as a caravanserai (city hostel for travellers) and in the 19th century it was used as a cotton warehouse. Centuries of using torches, cooking fires and candles have left thick layers of soot on the inner ceiling of the temple.

The reliefs on the columns and walls were discovered by Egyptologist Serge Sauneron in the 1960s. He published the discovered images and inscriptions a decade later, but others remained hidden not only to him until 2018, when a complete cleaning of the walls and ceilings began. Over the past five years, experts have restored colourful images of snakes, crocodiles and other animals, including a snake with a ram's head and a bird with a crocodile head, snake tail and four wings. Previously unknown inscriptions were also discovered. All of these depictions, decorations and paintings have been preserved for almost 2,000 years thanks to the high layers of soot and dirt that covered them.

The colourful relief paintings depict the signs of the zodiac, as well as the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, and a number of stars and constellations used in ancient times to measure time. Scientists believe that the zodiac system and its associated constellations were introduced to Egypt by the Greeks and gradually became popular there.

Cooperation between the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the University of Tübingen has enabled the full-scale restoration of the paintings and reliefs. According to Professor Christian Leitz of the University of Tübingen, depictions of the zodiac are very rare in Egyptian temples.

Dr. Daniel von Recklinghausen explained that the zodiac was used to decorate private tombs and sarcophagi: "And it was of great importance in astrological texts, such as horoscopes written on pottery shards. But it is rare in temple decoration - apart from Esna, only two fully complete versions have survived, both from Dendera," the university researcher added.

The restoration work at the Esna temple is sponsored by the American Research Center in Egypt. The discovery of the new images, the fabulous animals and the complete zodiac signs are a great boon to the scientific community and offer the public an unusual view of their depictions in virtually original quality.

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Sources: uni-tuebingen.de, arabnews.com, ancient-origins.net, phys.org

The frescoes and paintings look as they did at the time of their creation

the beautiful restored frescoes of the Esna temple

Two of the 46 vulture figures on the ceiling of the temple

before and after restoration

restorers in action removing soot

Sagittarius before restoration

the sign of Sagittarius in the zodiac

zodiac sign used to measure the twelve hours of the night before the restoration

Depiction of winged serpents and animal with bird, crocodile and snake features

part of the zodiac on the ceiling of the temple of Esna

the signs of the zodiac used to measure the twelve hours of the night

Representation of winged serpents and an animal with bird, crocodile and snake features after restoration