Bird poop hid ancient paintings in Egypt temple — until now. See what’s been revealed

The cavernous corridors of an ancient Egyptian temple have long concealed a remarkable secret.

Hidden beneath layers of soot, dust and bird droppings were rare traces of colorful paintings and glimmering gold decorations.

But now, the original artwork — which dates back thousands of years — has been revealed.

The discovery was made during recent restoration work at the temple of Edfu, a massive sanctuary located on the banks of the Nile River about 480 miles south of Cairo.

Dating to between 237 and 57 B.C., the building — which is dedicated to the god Horus — is considered the best-preserved temple in Egypt.

The restoration was carried out by conservationists from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the University of Würzburg in Germany, according to a Sept. 16 university news release.

Ancient paintings and gold gilding

While cleaning the temple walls, conservationists uncovered the remnants of paintwork that had once adorned sprawling reliefs.

Photos published by the Egyptian government show bright blue paint atop a carving of a male figure.

Such paintings are rare as they are almost never found inside Egyptian temples.

Further, the quality of the work reveals just how advanced Egyptian artwork was at the time, according to a news release from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

In ancient Egypt, paint was sourced from minerals, such as ocre, that were then ground into a powder, according to research from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, the color blue — which is commonly seen — cannot be found in nature, so it was created by combining and heating a mix of natural materials, such as sand, lime and copper.

In addition to the paint, conservationists located rare gold leaf adornments on statues and high up on the walls within the temple.

Ancient Egyptian temples were commonly gilded in gold. But due to the material’s fragile nature, it is seldom found inside temples today.

“The gilding of the figures presumably not only served to symbolically immortalize and deify them but also contributed to the mystical aura of the room,” Victoria Altmann-Wendling, the project manager, said in the release. “It must have been very impressive, especially when the sunlight was shining in.”

“The fact that the gods were completely gilded is particularly interesting. We find this in the textual sources that describe the flesh of the gods as consisting of gold,” Altmann-Wendling added.

Additionally, conservationists uncovered ancient “graffiti,” known as dipinti. Written in Demotic, the dipinti would have been prayers made to Horus — a falcon god — by priests who entered the temple.

The meticulous restoration work was completed in advance of the upcoming tourist season, when visitors from around the world descend upon the temple.

Google Translate was used to translate a news release from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

This story was originally published September 18, 2024 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Bird poop hid ancient paintings in Egypt temple — until now. See what’s been revealed."