Esna is a city located approximately 60 km south of Egypt’s ancient capital Luxor.
Several priests man the sacred pier that houses the temple of Khnum, the chief god of Esna. Image credit: Ahmed Amin / Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
The Temple of Esna, dedicated to the Egyptian god Khnum, is one of the last examples of ancient Egyptian temple architecture.
Only the vestibule called pronaosthe original temple complex survives as it was used as a cotton storage facility in the 19th century AD.
The building is 37 meters long, 20 meters wide and 15 meters high and was mainly decorated during the Roman period (1st to 3rd century AD).
” pronaos The Temple of Esna was a sandstone structure built before or during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) in front of the actual temple building, and was probably much larger than the temple itself . ” Professor Christian Reitz Professors from the Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Tübingen said in a statement.
“Its location in the middle of the city center probably contributed to the fact that during Egypt's industrialization the forecourt was preserved and not used as a quarry for building materials like other ancient structures. I guess you did.”
“For the past 1,800 years, locals have been lighting fires in the temple forecourts,” they added.
“As a result, the once colorful wall and pillar decorations have turned black.”
“Over the past six years, a team of up to 30 Egyptians has revealed the colors of the celestial images that cover the entire ceiling, as well as the colors of the 18 inner columns.”
“This year, a new phase of reconstruction began. Specialists completed the restoration of the southern interior wall and the southern part of the western rear wall.”
“They mainly used yellow and red pigments to highlight the original colors, marking a marked difference from the color schemes found elsewhere, such as the color scheme of Dendara Temple, where white and light blue predominate. .”
A royal apron with plant decoration: papyrus (top) is the emblem of Lower Egypt, lily (bottom) is the emblem of Upper Egypt. Image credit: Ahmed Amin / Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
The team's biggest discovery this year was the details of the robes, crowns and thrones of the kings and gods of Esna.
“Previously, we couldn't see them at all because of the thick layer of soot on top of the reliefs,” Professor Wrights said.
“All these painted details are an integral part of the offering scenes that cover the inner walls of the temple.
“We knew about hieroglyphs and reliefs, but each newly revealed decoration on the throne statue has its own meaning.”
“In a scene depicting the offering of bows and arrows to the goddess Nice, our conservation team discovered four bows painted at the bottom of the throne, which were probably part of the original nine bows. Upper and Lower Egypt and seven other regions ruled by Egyptian kings.
“Another example is the king's apron in the offering scene.”
“It is decorated with two plants: the papyrus (top) is the emblem of Lower Egypt, and the lily (bottom) is the emblem of Upper Egypt, symbolizing the king as ruler of the two regions of the country. I am.”
“Perhaps the most spectacular scene is that of the sacred sailing ship of the local god Khnoum, which carries the temple of the god.”
“This boat is carried by several priests and is carried out in procession from the innermost part of the temple. So on special occasions the people of Esna can at least see the closed temple of God. .”
“For the rest of the year, it was hidden in a temple accessible only to priests.”
Source: www.sci.news
