Restoration work at the site of a “key” ancient Egyptian temple is revealing long-hidden colorful details in its decorations.
The Temple of Esna, located on the west bank of the Nile over 30 miles south of Luxor, is currently undergoing extensive restoration efforts involving the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in collaboration with experts from the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies (IANES) at the University of Tübingen, Germany.
The temple was largely built and decorated during the early part of the 1st millennium when Egypt was under Roman rule, although its foundations date back earlier. Today, only a part of the temple still survives: the large vestibule, a type of antechamber or hall located next to the structure’s main entrance. This hall contains intricate carvings on its walls, ceiling and preserved columns, renowned for their artistry and detail.
“The Temple of Esna [is]…one of the key examples of the temple architecture of the Greco-Roman period,” Daniel von Recklinghausen with the IANES told Newsweek. “It was/is well known for a most sophisticated hieroglyphic writing system as well as architectural idiosyncrasies to which now the original polychromy, intact in many parts, can be added.”
An artwork at the Temple of Esna in Egypt with the color visible. Restoration work at the temple has revealing long-hidden colorful details in its decorations.
An artwork at the Temple of Esna in Egypt with the color visible. Restoration work at the temple has revealing long-hidden colorful details in its decorations.
Ahmed Amin/Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
For centuries, local people lit fires in the temple vestibule, causing the once-colourful decorations to blacken due to soot. However, restoration efforts over the past six years have revealed the original colors of artworks within the temple and previously undocumented inscriptions.
“There are three key discoveries that have come to light: a) one of the most complete polychrome layouts in Egyptian architecture of Greco-Roman times in general… b) a great number of hitherto unknown inscriptions giving for the first time the ancient Egyptian designations of constellations and c) all twelve zodiacal signs,” von Recklinghausen said.
“The re-gained polychromy greatly improves our understanding of the process of how the temple decoration was realized in the Greco-Roman period. It also tells us a great deal about which colors were used to describe offerings and mythological figures and objects, etcetera, in a religious setting.”
A new phase of the restoration works that began this year, which focused on the southern inner wall and the southern part of the western rear wall, revealed dominant yellow and red pigments. This contrasts with the Dendera Temple complex—another key ancient Egyptian temple site—where white and blue predominate.
“The greatest discovery this year was the many painted details of the clothing on the king and the deities of Esna, their crowns and their thrones,” Christian Leitz, an expert with the IANES who has been leading the efforts on the German side, said in a press release. “Previously, we could not see them at all due to the thick layer of soot over the reliefs.”
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