CAIRO — The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced Sept. 22 that the joint Egyptian-German archaeological mission working on the Temple of Esna in Luxor governorate (south Egypt) has restored several inscriptions, drawings and colors in the temple’s ceiling. 

According to a statement by the Ministry of Tourism, the discovery of the inscriptions and drawings of the Esna Temple’s ceiling is part of the project to restore the temple and reveal its original colors.

The secretary-general of the state-owned Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mustafa al-Waziri, said in a statement Sept. 22, “The drawings and inscriptions that were revealed are of great importance, as they represent the cycles of the sun and moon gods in the night and day during their journey in the other world.”

The drawings include "a scene representing the cycle of the sun god and the battle against his enemies, and another of an old man symbolizing the sun during sunset," Waziri said. Another inscription represents "the row of deities of the lunar days, such as the idol Geb and the goddess Nut, and other inscriptions depicting the journey of the gods of the sun and the moon in the other world.”