A Firmament above Thebes: Uncovering the Constellations of Ancient Egyptians

Neugebauer O. Parker R. A. , Egyptian astronomical texts (hereafter EAT ), i-iii (Providence, 1960–69).

Neugebauer O. , The exact sciences in Antiquity (New York, 1969), 88.

EAT , ii, p. x.

A most recent challenge to the ideas of N&P can be found in Conman J. , “It's about time: Ancient Egyptian cosmology”, Studien zur Altaegyptischen Kultur , xxxi (2003), 33–71. This paper presents a new, revolutionary and probably wrong, approach to explain the operation of the decans in the “Cosmology of Nut”. The proposed identifications for the decanal stars are irrelevant for the purpose of the present paper since Conman offers only a list of disconnected stars without any attempt to draw complete constellations.

For the decans, see: Belmonte J. A. , “The decans and the ancient Egyptian skylore: An astronomer's approach”, Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana , lxxiii, spec. 1 (2002), 43–57. For the Ramesside star clocks, see Belmonte J. A. , “The Ramesside star clocks and the ancient Egyptian constellations”, Uppsala Astronomical Observatory report no. 59 on Calendars, symbols, and orientations: Legacies of astronomy in culture , SEAC 2001 Proceedings (Uppsala, 2003a), 57–65. Also relevant is Belmonte J. A. , “A celestial map of the ancient Egyptian firmament”, in European archaeoastronomy and the orientation of monuments in the Mediterranean Basin , ed. by Maravelia A. A. (BAR International Series 1154; Oxford, 2003b), 31–36. The most recent works of Lull J. are: “Identification of an ancient Egyptian star: tms n hntt ‘the red (star) of Khentet'”, Göttinger Miszellen , cxcix (2004a), 73–77; La astronomía en el antiguo Egipto (Valencia, 2005); “Propuesta de identificación de estrellas y constelaciones egipcias de la lista decanal del techo astronómico de Senenmut en Deir el-Bahari”, BAEDE , no. 15 (2005), 99–119; “Los cúmulos estelares en las listas decanales y relojes ramésidas del antiguo Egipto”, in Lull J. (ed.), Trabajos de arqueoastronomía: Ejemplos de África, América, Europa y Oceanía (Valencia, 2006), 193–208; and “La constelación de Mesjetiu (UMa) en el antiguo Egipto”, Astronomía , lxxxiv (2006), 24–31. See also his “El techo astronómico de la tumba de Senmut en Deir el-Bahari (TT 353)”, Huygens , no. 33 (2001), 18–32; “Antares y la Roja de Khentet: Identficación de una estrella egipcia”, Huygens , no. 43 (2003), 14–17; and “Propuesta de identificación de estrellas y constelaciones egipcias de los relojes ramésidas”, Huygens , no. 51 (2004b), 8–17.

Such as Sky astronomy software or Starry night pro..

A widely accepted date for the construction of the star-charts; see, for example, EAT , ii, 9.

The intention is to have a ‘lion’ in the apparent form of this animal, a ‘giant’ taking a large section of the sky and so forth.

The connection between Meskhetyu and the Plough was already established in the nineteenth century. Le Page Renouf P. , “Calendar of astronomical observations found in royal tombs of the XXth Dynasty”, Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology , iii (1874), 400–21, proposed that it would extend from Ursa Major as far as Cassiopeia when depicted as a complete bull. See also Clagett M. , Ancient Egyptian science , ii: Calendars, clocks, and astronomy (Philadelphia, 1995).

This connection also is very old, see Renouf , op. cit. (ref. 9), or Chatley H. , “Egyptian astronomy”, Journal of Egyptian archaeology , xxvi (1940), 120–6. Most important is Locher K. , “New arguments for the celestial location of the decanal belt and the origins of the sḥ hieroglyph”, in Sesto Congresso Internazionale di Egittologia , Att. ii (Turin, 1983), 279–80.

See Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2001), 29, or Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 223, and Shaltout M. Belmonte J. A. , “On the orientation of ancient Egyptian temples, I: Upper Egypt and lower Nubia”, Journal for the history of astronomy , xxxvi (2005), 273–98.

Locher K. , “Probable identification of the ancient Egyptian circumpolar constellations”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 9 (1985), S152–3; Leitz Ch. , Studien zur ägyptische Astronomie (Wiesbaden, 1991), 35.

Shaltout Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 11), 289–91.

Krupp E. C. , Echoes of the ancient skies (New York, 1983), 126.

Pogo A. , “The astronomical ceiling-decoration in the Tomb of Senmut (XVIII Dynasty)”, Isis , xiv (1930), 301–25.

Etz D. V. , “A new look at the constellation figures in the celestial diagram”, Journal of the American Research Center of Egypt , xxxiv (1997), 143–61.

Isler M. , “An ancient method of finding and extending direction”, Journal of the American Research Center of Egypt , xxvi (1989), 191–206.

Biegel R. A. , Zur Astrognosie der alten Ägypter (Zurich, 1921), Figs 6a-b and 7; Chatley , op. cit. (ref. 10), 123; Davis V. L. , “Identifying ancient Egyptian constellations”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 9 (1985), S102–4; Etz or , op. cit. (ref. 16), 158.

Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 230.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2003), 35.

Wainwright C. A. , “A pair of constellations”, in Studies presented to F. L. Griffith (London, 1932), 375–9.

See e.g. EAT , iii, 183, note 2; Clagett or , op. cit. (ref. 9), 119.

Biegel , op. cit. (ref. 18), Figs 6a and 7; Davis , op. cit. (ref. 18), 103; Locher or , op. cit. (ref. 10), 152.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2003a), Fig. 2; and Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 231.

Biegel , op. cit. (ref. 18), Fig. 7.

Pogo , op. cit. (ref. 15), 311.

Chatley , op. cit. (ref. 10), 123.

Davis , op. cit. (ref. 18), 104; and Etz , op. cit. (ref. 16), 158.

Locher , op. cit. (ref. 12), Fig. 1.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2003b), 36; and Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 229.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2003a), 59; and Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 228–9 and 273.

šwty.si, “her two feathers”, is the name of one of the sections of this constellation, used as a reference in the Ramesside starcharts.

In EAT , iii, 191. Etz, op. cit. (ref. 16), is of the same opinion.

See Sloley B. W. , “Primitive methods of measuring time, with special reference to Egypt”, Journal of Egyptian archaeology , xvii (1931), 166–78.

Piankoff A. , Le livre du jour et de la nuit (Cairo, 1942), 24.

Vandier J. , Le papyrus Jumilhac (París, 1961), 108 and 129.

As shown in Belmonte J. A. Shaltout M. , “On the orientation of ancient Egyptian temples: (2) New experiments at the oases of the Western desert”, Journal for the history of astronomy , xxxvii (2006), 173–92, Fig. 9.

Belmonte J. A. Shaltout M. , “The astronomical ceiling of Senenmut: A dream of mystery and imagination”, Proceedings of the SEAC 2005 conference on Light and shadows in cultural astronomy, ed. by Zedda M. Belmonte J. A. (Cagliari, 2006), in press.

Accordingly, Renouf , op. cit. (ref. 9), Who had not been influenced by Sloley's misconceptions, op. cit. (ref. 34), proposed those identifications back in the nineteenth century.

Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 235–41.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2003b).

See, for example, Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 273.

EAT , iii, pl. 25.

EAT , iii, 193.

Biegel , op. cit. (ref. 18), Figs 6a and 7.

Chatley , op. cit. (ref. 10), 123.

Locher K. , “The ancient Egyptian constellation group ‘The Lion Between the Two Crocodiles and the Bird”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 15 (1990), 50, Fig. 1.

Davis , op. cit. (ref. 18), 103; and Etz , op. cit. (ref. 16), 158.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2003a), 62–64; and Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 232 and 272. According to our proposal, tp n mi, the “Head of the Lion” and sd.f, “His Tail” could be located in the stars α Leo (Regulus) and β Leo (Denebola), respectively.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2003b), Table 1.

As proposed in Belmonte Shaltout , op. cit. (ref. 38).

Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 232.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2002).

Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 244–62.

Locher K. , “A conjecture concerning the early Egyptian constellation of the Sheep”, Arcpage>S63haeoastronomy , no. 3 (1981), –65.

Locher , op. cit. (ref. 10).

Leitz Ch. , Studien zur Ägyptischen Astronomie (Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, xlix; Wiesbaden, 1991), 67, has proposed that the diagonal clocks were not a star rising device but rather an idealized system to observe star settings where the heliacal rising of Sirius would always occur in I ḥt I, the ancient Egyptian New Year day.

Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 258–9.

EAT , iii, 65, Fig. 15.

Lull , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2005), 263–75; and Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 5, 2003a).