We have found an Egyptian observatory from 2,500 years ago. It helps us understand their dominion over the stars

Humanity is fascinated by looking at the stars. A recent event was the Perseids last August, and this September is full of unique astronomical moments that we can observe from different points around the world. Things were not very different thousands of years ago, so much so that ancient civilizations already built observatories from which to follow the dance of the cosmos.

It is estimated that the oldest observatory was built about 5,000 years agobut now we have found one from 2,500 years ago in Egypt located in the Temple of the Pharaohs, in the city of Buto.

Millenary observatory. There is much talk about the Mayans as the kings of astronomy, but other civilizations also have the honor of being among the most skilled in this regard and the Egyptian, undoubtedly, is among them. They mapped the night sky, created the first solar calendar known in history with 365 days and thanks to them Our time system has 24 hours. This newly unearthed observatory dates back to the 6th century BC and is located in the town of Kafr Sheikh.

Mohamed Ismail Khaled is the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Archaeology and has commented that the construction demonstrates “ancient Egypt’s skill and ability in astronomy and its ability to determine the solar calendar, the dates of religious rites and official ones, such as the coronation of kings and agricultural periods.” This was vital, literally, as astronomers kept track of the Nile floods that were crucial for both agriculture and navigation on the river.

It was hugeThe complex covered an area of ​​850 square meters, with an entrance facing east to cover the sunrise and a central columned room in the shape of an ‘L’. It had several rooms or sections and, among the various striking elements, there is a circular room that has a large stone block on the floor and two large circular stones (to the north and west) that were used to take measurements of the inclination of the Sun.

Beyond these main observation rooms, a large room was discovered with yellow slate-clad walls on which murals would have been painted, as well as four small brick rooms that could have been used as observation towers.

Artifacts and figurines. On the margin, there were five somewhat smaller rooms that would have been used to store tools and objects. Apart from the measuring tools, a wide variety of religious symbols have been found, such as bronze statuettes of Osiris and Nemes, as well as a terracotta statue of Bes, another of Osiris built in granite and items such as necklaces and ceramic amphorae.

An imposing clockThe Sun was central to astronomical observation, and in addition to the circular room block, a ‘time room’ with a tilted stone sundial has been found. This is a 4.8-metre-long limestone tiled room made up of five limestone blocks: three vertical and two horizontal. At one point, it would have had another component to measure both the sun’s tilt and shadow, and thus be able to monitor the movement of the star during the day.

So important were these types of buildings that Hossam Ghanim, general manager of the Kafr Sheikh Archaeological Area and responsible for this archaeological mission, has revealed that, in one of the rooms, a stone block was discovered with engravings representing the sunrise and sunset during the three seasons of the year. They had three seasonsYes, they marked the flooding of the Nile, sowing and harvesting.

In the end, it is always interesting to learn more about ancient civilizations and these kinds of discoveries help to understand the reason for the astronomical dominance of some of them.

Images | Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

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