VIBRANT FRESCOES UNCOVERED IN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE SHOW DEPICTIONS OF ANCIENT DEITIES
German and Egyptian researchers have uncovered paintings and inscriptions on the walls and ceilings of the Temple of Khnum at Esna, near Luxor in Egypt.
The images, which feature depictions of several deities, were covered in dirt and soot for almost 2,000 years, which has helped to preserve them in immaculate detail.
“Temples and ancient depictions of the gods were often painted in brilliant colours, but these have usually faded or even disappeared totally as a result of external influences,” said lead researcher Prof Christian Leitz, of the University of Tübingen, Germany.
“For the first time we can see all the decorative elements in relation to one another.”
After beginning work in 2018, the researchers have now cleaned half of the temple’s ceilings and eight of its 18 columns.
A close-up image of two of the 46 vulture figures depicted on the ceiling of the temple’s central bay. The vulture-headed goddess Nekhbet is seen in the middle of the photo, with the cobra-headed goddess Wadjet below her. 
The restoration workers painstakingly remove 2,000 years’ of dirt and soot from one of the temple’s columns. 
With the dirt and soot removed, the intricacies of the carvings are fully revealed. Note the detail in this depiction of Thoth, the ibis-headed god of science, knowledge and the Moon. 
This work-in-progress photograph of one of the Temple of Khnum’s architraves reveals the vibrant paintings and reliefs being uncovered.