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Ongoing restoration work at the Roman Period temple at Esna has revealed further scenes in the southwestern part of the ceiling that were previously hidden by soot and bird faeces.
The joint Egyptian-German archaeological mission has discovered depictions of the cycles of the sun- and moon-gods at night and during their journey in the Afterlife, including scenes of the sun-god battling his enemies, an old man symbolising the sun at sunset, and other deities including Geb and Nut. [Read more about this work in AE 125.]
Also at Esna, another Egyptian team has discovered a cache containing a number of coins from different historical eras together with coin moulds and weights, suggesting a coin mint and weighing house once existed in the city.
The cache was found behind the temple, and included about 286 coins dating to the reigns of 19 different rulers of the Islamic Period, as well as foreign coins from Armenia dating to the reign of Leon II (c. AD 1236-1289).
All images: copyright of the Ministry for Tourism and Antiquities
