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Posted on 05/02/2025 2:59:03 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A new study suggests that ancient Egyptians may have captured the Milky Way in their artwork more than 3,000 years ago, potentially offering our galaxy’s earliest-known visual representation. Astrophysicist Or Graur, an associate professor at the University of Portsmouth, identified a striking visual detail of the Milky Way while examining depictions of the sky goddess Nut.
His findings, published in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, point to a black, wavy line on Nut’s body in certain funerary artwork.
Nut frequently appears in Egyptian tomb art and religious texts as a naked woman covered in stars, her arched figure stretching over the earth. She symbolizes the sky and plays a key role in mythology, swallowing the Sun each night and giving birth to it at dawn.
Nut’s cosmological vignette on the outer coffin of Nesitaudjatakhet Nut’s cosmological vignette on the outer coffin of Nesitaudjatakhet. Credit: Vi Ko / CC BY-SA 4.0 Rare detail found on singer’s coffin offers new clues One coffin stood out. It belonged to Nesitaudjatakhet, a singer of the god Amun-Ra who lived during Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period. On her outer coffin, Nut is shown with a bold, undulating black line running from her feet to her hands.
Stars are scattered on both sides of the line, an unusual feature not commonly found in other versions of the goddess.
Grecian Delight supports Greece Graur reviewed 125 similar images of Nut from a wider collection of 555 coffins. He believes this line may represent the Milky Way, particularly the Great Rift—a dark band of cosmic dust that appears to split the galaxy when viewed from Earth.
He noted the resemblance is clear when compared to modern astronomical photographs. The line’s curve mirrors the structure seen in the night sky.
Royal tombs offer supporting evidence This interpretation is further supported by artwork found in royal tombs. In at least four tombs in the Valley of the Kings, including that of Ramses VI, Nut appears with golden wavy lines flowing from her head down her back.
These figures, painted on the ceilings of burial chambers, divide scenes from the “Book of the Day and the Book of the Night”, texts that describe the Sun’s daily journey through the underworld.
Graur emphasized that while there is a visual link, the goddess Nut should not be equated with the Milky Way. Rather, the galaxy may be one of several celestial features symbolically on her body, representing the sky.
Ancient texts and sky simulations offer seasonal insights “The rarity of these wavy lines reinforces a conclusion I reached in a previous study: although there is a link between Nut and the Milky Way, they are not the same,” he noted.
In earlier work published in April 2024, Graur examined ancient writings including the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of Nut, alongside simulations of Egypt’s night sky.
That study proposed that different parts of Nut’s body could align with the Milky Way depending on the season. In winter, her outstretched arms matched the galaxy’s path. In summer, it ran along her spine.
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Naked woman named Nut heh heh heh
Like we didn’t already know that.../s
Hmmm... Her artwork also suggests the existence of dark matter, the Earth’s flatness, and the ether’s existence.
Not merely a woman, She’s a GODDESS!
I think they are depicting a Twix bar. It has a cookie and carmel center.
Very interesting. Thank you for finding this.
Van Gogh painted that, right? “Starry Nut” ?
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