Ancient Near-East Astronomical Carvings </head> <body> <pre> Ancient Near-East Astronomical Carvings Chair: Nancy K. Cox, San Francisco Amateur Astronomers As much as one has seen numerous photographs of ancient Egyptian temples and artifacts, it still does not prepare one for the beauty of these objects seen in person. I was lucky enough to take a 2-week tour of Egypt, as part of a Travel Quest / Sky & Telescope total solar eclipse trip. (The eclipse was great, the path of totality being across the desert, to the West, very near the Libyan border, with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak at the eclipse observing site, the town of Sallum.) The day before, I had been lucky enough to be interviewed by a Voice of America reporter about the upcoming eclipse. She used some of my quotes - the article can be found on the Internet. Now on to carvings - beginning with the Pyramids, on the Giza plateau, on the southwest outskirts of Cairo. Modern "alignment theorists" think the 3 great pyramids were lined up with the belt of Orion, and symbolically, the top tip of the pyramid leading to heaven. These pyramids are exactly lined up with the 4 cardinal directions, north, south, east, and west. Flying south to Abu Simbel (staying on the subject of alignments) we observed the massive monument built by the great Pharaoh Ramses II (this is the one that had to be raised, to avoid being flooded when the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1950s). Giant statues of Ramses II line the outside, and there are numerous halls inside with columns, and walls with beautifully carved reliefs and hieroglyphics. The alignment here is shafts of sunlight that come in 2 times a year, not at a solstice or equinox, but on Ramses's birthday, and an anniversary of his reign - talk about ego! Now, on to viewing many of the very famous temples of Ancient Egypt, including Luxor, Karnak, and a few of the pharaonic tombs in the Valley of the Kings (on the West side of the Nile, in ancient Thebes). There was a chance to observe, numerous times, the many depictions of the pantheon of Egyptian gods - in relief carvings on the temples, and lovely paintings in the Valley of the Kings (the tombs being underground). The ancient Egyptians seemed very tied to their natural environment, making beautifully designed replications, for example of Horus, the falcon-headed god, and the sacred scarab beetle. They seemed very mystically tied to the sky - with depictions of the disc of the Sun god Ra, and the Sun disc with rays, Aten, and especially with Nut, the sky god, who is drawn as an outstretched body, symbolizing the rising of the Sun in the East and birth, its traverse during the day (life), and its setting in the West (death). This theme is also echoed in the tombs' paintings and the passage of the King's soul to the netherworld. The Egyptians carried this theme so far as to build cities (and life) on the East bank of the Nile, and the tombs (death) on the West side. In discussion, I'd also like to include carvings and archaeological findings of Sumer, the first ancient civilization, which predated the Egyptian by at least 1,000 years. This area, including Ur, the first city, is in southern Iraq, which obviously I did not visit, being just a wee bit dangerous right now. But there are numerous books on the subject. They had gods and goddesses of the heavens and the Sun and an especially important one for the Moon, Nanna. There are many depictions on the remains of their temple walls. The Sumerian culture of Mesopotamia had a large influence on the civilizations that followed, including Egypt and Babylonia. I know that John Westfall visited the ancient temples in Iran, and I hope he and others will tell us about those. References There are good websites on Sumer/Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Here are a few books: Ancient Egypt The Atlas of Ancient Egypt, Delia Pemberton, 2005, Harry Abrams. Has good photographs, including Nut. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Richard Wilkinson, 2003, Thames and Hudson. Very good illustrations. Sorts our the Egyptian pantheon of gods. Reading Egyptian Art - A Hieroglyphic Guide to Egyptian Painting and Sculpture, Richard Wilkinson, 1992, Thames and Hudson. Explains in detail what you are seeing. Sumer/Ancient Mesopotamia Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia, Jean Bottero, 2001, University of Chicago Press. Includes cosmology, astrology beliefs, and their gods. The Sumerians - Their History, Culture and Character, Samuel Noah Kramer, 1963, 1971, University of Chicago Press. Good section of photographs, and the divisions of the Sumerian years into seasons, months, and days. </pre> </body> </html>