Ancient zodiac glyphs4/18/2024 ![]() Images of decans, zodiac signs used to measure the 12 hours of the nightįrom Mesopotamia, the 12 signs for the division of the night sky spread to Greece, gaining traction as the Greeks came to dominate the Mediterranean. ![]() ![]() The artifact tracked the motion of the planet Venus and “is one of the earliest pieces of what’s been called Babylonian planetary omens,” wrote Olivia B. But one of the oldest artifacts linked to celestial divination-the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa-dates to the Neo-Assyrian period, between roughly between 911 and 612 B.C.E. Historians don’t know the exact origins of the zodiac signs or the practice of astrology (divination based on the movement of the stars). The newly restored ceiling paintings could help experts match the name of a previously unknown constellation, Apedu n Ra, or “the geese of Ra,” to the relevant zodiac figure. According to Michelle Starr of Science Alert, the Big Dipper was known as Mesekhtiu, while Orion was called Sah. ![]() In 2020, the team discovered inscriptions that revealed the ancient Egyptian names of several constellations. The zodiac isn’t the first celestial-centric find made at Esna, which is located almost 40 miles south of Luxor. Two vulture figures discovered at the Temple of Esna in 2022 “The temple’s complete range of images is unique in its wealth of figures and the state of preservation of the colors,” said von Recklinghausen in a 2022 statement detailing previously unknown frescoes of the vulture goddess Nekhbet and the serpent goddess Wadjet. Researchers have painstakingly restored ceiling frescoes, column inscriptions and other decorative elements, removing layers of soot, dust and dirt to reveal the artworks’ original appearance. The restoration project-a collaboration between Tübingen scholars and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities-began in 2018. Other newly restored artworks depict snakes, crocodiles and imagined creatures like a bird with a crocodile’s head. In addition to the 12 signs, the Esna reliefs feature images of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, as well as the “seven arrows” of Sekhmet and constellations used by the ancient Egyptians to measure time, reports Ahram Online’s Nevine El-Aref. “There is no difference apart from some depictions in the signs,” he explains. Speaking with Live Science’s Owen Jarus, Leitz says the Esna zodiac is virtually the same as the design commonly seen today. Representation of the Zodiac sign Sagittarius after restorationĪhmed Armin, Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiques As Daniel von Recklinghausen, also an Egyptologist at Tübingen, says in the statement, “Apart from Esna, there are only two completely preserved versions left,” both from the Dendera Temple Complex on the West Bank of the Nile River. But the motif is rarely seen in temple decorations. Images of the zodiac signs and their correlating constellations appear on pottery and sarcophagi from the Ptolemaic era. “The zodiac itself is part of Babylonian astronomy and does not appear in Egypt until Ptolemaic times.” “Representations of the zodiac are very rare in Egyptian temples,” says Christian Leitz, an Egyptologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany, in a statement. Dated to the Ptolemaic period, which spanned 305 to 30 B.C.E., the artworks add to evidence suggesting the Greeks brought the zodiac tradition to Egypt. Archaeologists excavating the ancient Egyptian Temple of Esna have restored a series of ceiling paintings depicting the zodiac, a belt-shaped region of the sky traditionally divided into 12 astrological signs.
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