Original Colours of Edfu Temple Revealed for First Time

A German-Egyptian joint archaeological mission between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the University of Würzburg has recently discovered new inscriptions on the Temple of Edfu - a temple dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Horus in Aswan. The inscriptions - which were found during the restoration project of the temple surface - revealed the original colours of the temple in ancient times.

According to the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, during the restoration of the ceiling and walls of the temple’s Holy of Holies, the German-Egyptian team discovered remains of coloured scenes and inscriptions written by priests in Demotic script, in addition to traces of gold paint used to gild the reliefs of jewellery and royal emblems.

The discovered inscriptions indicate that the building was once covered with thick sheets of gilded copper, providing new perspectives on the religious practices of priests during the Ptolemaic period.

The colours of the Edfu Temple are currently undergoing restoration to their original state, as part of the temple restoration project which began in 2021 with funding from the German Gerda Henkel Foundation. The project aims to clean the temple walls, as well as republish and digitally document its inscriptions in more accurate studies compared to those previously published in the last century.

This project also includes the restoration and cleaning of the temple's sanctuaries and interior walls, as well as colour stabilisation, soot removal, and detailed studies of the texts and inscriptions engraved on the walls of the Holy of Holies and the adjoining rooms.