Like their predecessors of the neolithic, the ancient Egyptians built stone monuments facing a specific astronomical direction. The Old Kingdom pyramids located west of the Nile are a few of these monuments. On the inner walls of the latest ones were engraved hieroglyphic texts related for some to stars and constellations : Soped, Sah, ... An imagery accompanies their names, their successive appearances in the eastern sky are told to us, on the interior lid of wooden sarcophagi dating from the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom. The shape of the constellations filling the sky of ancient Egypt, the names of the deities to which they were associated, furthermore appear on the ceiling of New Kingdom temples and tombs (Senenmut, Seti I, Ramasseum, ...). Within these New Kingdom monuments, the relationship between the solar and stellar cycles, the symbolism relating to the rising of the Sun in ancient Egypt, are also detailed.
As well as the sky-goddess Nut gave birth to the Sun in the early morning, she gave birth to the stars at their hour, say the Book of Nut and the Dramatic Text of which the Carlsberg Papyrus I is a late copy. Their coming forth from the Duat after they remained unseen from earth for several weeks was considered as a rebirth and gave rise to festivities - more particularly that of Sirius, the brightest star of the sky, of which several texts (papyrus El-Lahun, Ebers calendar, ...) mention the heliacal rising.
These remnants of architectural, textual or parietal nature make up an astro-egyptological database to be regularly updated, that is to say, the starting point of original research works which required the conceiving of several astronomy softwares and led to the formulation of new scientific hypothesis - relating to the identification of the constellations filling the sky of ancient Egypt, to the astronomical source of orientation of the Old Kingdom pyramids, of the temples of Isis and Hathor at Dendara, etc. None of the hypothesis put forward naturally is certain. By definition, the most certain one is the hypothesis whose associated probability is the highest, that is to say, the hypothesis which explains much better than any other one the observed or measured reality. The principle on which this probabilistic approach works was the topic of two lectures made at the 55th and the 56th meetings of the American Research Center in Egypt, Tucson, Arizona, 2004 and Boston, Massachusetts, 2005. Its goal : enhancing collaboration between worldwide Astronomers and Egyptologists.
Since Jean-François Champollion was the very first to understand the astronomical content of the remnants he found during his trip in Egypt, his biography is available online (in French only).
| 
Mailing list