PAINTINGS OF EGYPTIAN GODDESSES UNEARTHED
Archaeologists have discovered 46 stunning depictions of goddesses from ancient Egypt buried under layers of soot and bird poop. Artists created the detailed and colourful frescoes on the ceiling of a temple nearly 2,200 years ago. The temple is located at Esna and is dedicated to Khnum, a god associated with fertility and water. Hieroglyphs on the temple show that it was used for nearly 400 years. Over the centuries after the temple was abandoned, its paintings became coated with soot and dirt. Researchers cleaned the paintings with alcohol, revealing their vivid colours once again.
The team found that the temple’s paintings depict Nekhbet, a goddess who is depicted as a vulture, and Wadjet, a cobra-headed goddess who has wings. Nekhbet is shown wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt and Wadjet wears the crown of Lower Egypt. Nekhbet and Wadjet were sometimes referred to by the ancient Egyptians as the ‘two ladies’. Nekhbet and Wadjet were frequently depicted as protector deities.
Work is ongoing and the team will be publishing details about their finds in the future. Cleaning and conservation of the paintings is still underway. More than half of the temple’s ceilings have now been cleaned, conserved and documented, along with eight of the 18 columns.