http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ mirrored file For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== *Illustration Gallery* *Astronomical Artefacts and Portraits, etc* The "astronomical ceilings," some from tombs and some from temples, are amongst the most important surviving Egyptian "astronomical documents." These particular ceilings contain decorative motifs and were designed to provide both a symbolic and schematic summary of astronomical knowledge. The Senmut tomb has the oldest intact representation of the northern constellations. Above is a reconstruction (by Otto Neugebauer and Richard Parker (EAT, Volume 3, Text)) of the arrangement of the ancient Egyptian northern constellations depicted on the Senmut ceiling. The (unfinished) tomb of Senmut is located at Deir el-Bahri, Luxor. It dates to circa 1473 BCE. This is approximately three centuries latter than the astronomical inscriptions on coffin lids from the end of the Middle Kingdom. (During the 1930s the astronomer Alexander Pogo (then working at Mount Palomar Observatory) conducted investigations of Egyptian astronomy and (1) first recognised the astronomical content of inscriptions on coffin lids from the end of the Middle Kingdom, and (2) the relationship between these simple pictures and the elaborate representations on the tomb ceilings of kings of the New Kingdom period.) Senmut was the vezir of Queen Hatshepsut. The tomb has the earliest preserved ceiling discovered to date. Whilst placing representations of the sky on ceilings is quite logical the practice also contributes to their easy destruction. On the ceiling of the decorated chamber there is a decan list and planets (excepting Mars), northern constellations and deities, and lunar calendar. It would appear that by the late 2nd-millennium BCE the Egyptians had divided the sky into a small number of very large constellations. During the 1st-millennium BCE these constellations would be divided further into some 25 constellations. The arrangement of the ancient Egyptian northern constellations on the astronomical ceiling of Hall K of the tomb of Seti I. No written record survives for identifying the constellations depicted. Seti I (reigned 1303-1290 BCE) was the son and heir of Ramses I. The tomb of Seti I is located in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor. It is the next well-preserved astronomical ceiling after that of Senmut's tomb. It has close parallels in the tomb of Ramses IV (Dynasty XX, circa 1100 BCE) and later Egyptian rulers. The content of the vaulted ceiling of Hall K comprises a decan list and planets with deities, northern constellations and deities. Also contained within the Seti I tomb are decorations of the complete versions of the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Gates, the Book of the Caverns, the Book of the Day, the Book of the Night, and the Book of the Cow of Heaven. Further, there is the text of the Deliverance of Mankind, and the Litany of the Sun. The papyrus "Carlsberg 1", though written more than 1000 years after the Seti 1 text, is a commentary to these inscriptions. Copyright © 2005-2006 by Gary D. Thompson ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Return to top of page.* <#top> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This Web Page was last updated on: Friday, December 30, 2005, 4:00 am. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This Web Page was created using Arachnophilia 4.0 and FrontPage 2003. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You can reach me here by email: gtosiris.mpx.com.au ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Return To Site Contents Page*