Beautiful paintings of ancient Egyptian goddesses revealed beneath layers of bird droppings
Archaeologists have uncovered a staggering 46 depictions of ancient Egyptian goddesses previously buried under layers of soot and bird droppings. Almost 2,200 years ago, artists created detailed and colorful frescoes on the ceiling of a temple. The temple is located in Esna, a city in southern Egypt about 60 kilometers south of Luxor (ancient Thebes). It is dedicated to Khnum, an ancient Egyptian god associated with fertility and water. Hieroglyphs on the temple show that it was in use for almost 400 years - between the time of Pharaoh Ptolemy VI. (ruled 180 BC to 145 BC) and Roman Emperor Decius (ruled Egyptology at the University of Tübingen in Germany, Live Science said in an email. Leitz is a member of the Egyptian-German team studying the preserved and documented temple. Over the centuries after the temple was abandoned, its colorful paintings became covered in soot and dirt. The Egyptian-German team cleaned the paintings with alcohol, which revealed their vibrant colors, Leitz