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Published 13:19 IST, November 30th 2020

Egypt: Temple restoration reveals unknown ancient star constellations; Details here

The restoration of the Egyptian temple at Esna resulted in the accidental discovery of images of unknown constellations from the ancient Egyptian era.

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The restoration of temple Esna in Egypt has offered a discovery. This temple is dedicated to the Egyptian god Khnumis and is among the last few remaining temples of the ancient Egyptian temple architecture. The temple lies nearly 60 km south of the ancient city of Luxor in Egypt. Only the central vestibule of the temple, which is called Pronaos, was able to survive the decaying sand waves. The temple was used as storage for cotton during the 19thcentury CE. Scientists found images of constellations on the roof of this temple during the restoration work.

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How it was discovered?

The temple was filled with soot and dirt for a long time. The reposition work started, which unveiled the beautiful images of the Egyptian era's constellations from the temple. Christian Leitz, professor of Egyptology at the University of Tubingen, offered detailed information about this wonderful discovery to Live Science. He said that the workers were removing the piled-up dust using a mixture of alcohol and distilled water. They suddenly discovered the painted carvings. He added that the colour of the painted carvings of the space was intact, and the dirt had protected the pigments. According to him, the pictures and engravings were new "It looked like it was painted yesterday", he added. He also said that the restoration team was not repainting; instead, they were removing the shoot.

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This temple of Esna in Egypt has 18 columns that support its roof. The roof is deforested with floral capitals like lotus buds, papyrus fans, palm leaves. Interestingly, some drawings also have engravings of a bunch of grapes, which is an apparent Roman influence of Egyptian architecture. The roof's inside is decorated with beautiful engravings of the astronomical constellations, and space and columns have hieroglyphics, which offers detailed information about temple rituals.

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Leiz also stated to Live Science that the discovery will offer a new way of Egyptology search. The University of Tubingen offered a detailed article on their recent discovery on the official website.  According to this report, the scientists were able to identify some known constellations like the Big Dipper or Mesekhitu and Orion or Sahconstellations. They were also able to find a new unknown consultation, including Apedu n Ra or Geese of Ra.

According to Leitz, the temple's real work, including these astronomical pictures, including the constellation of Apedu n ra, might have taken nearly 200 years. He also added that the constellation pictures were drawn using black ink. The restoration work is still going on, and scientists and researchers are working hard to find more details about the constellations and their importance in ancient Egypt.

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13:19 IST, November 30th 2020