The sky has been a source of inspiration for artists since time immemorial. But our collective understanding of just how far into the past artistic representations of this expanse may reach — and how faithfully they reflect actual cosmology — is an ever-changing picture. New research published in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage shows evidence of the Milky Way being accurately represented in Ancient Egyptian artifacts dating back as early as the 21st Dynasty (1077–943 BCE).
Or Graur, associate professor of Astrophysics at the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, analyzed a catalog of 555 decorative coffin elements, including 118 that featured “cosmological vignettes” from the 21st and 22nd Dynasties. The literal starring character in these vignettes is the Ancient Egyptian sky goddess Nut (nwt), often depicted as a huge figure arching in a semi-circle above the tableau, representing the sky, studded with stars.
In a previous paper published in 2024, Graur used comparative analysis, attempting to reconstruct the Ancient Egyptian sky, and mapping those astronomical models against depictions of Nut on coffin details and in manuscripts. The recent paper focuses on one particular representation in the outer coffin of Nesitaudjatakhet, which features an “undulating black curve” bisecting Nut’s body that Graur proposes as a representation of the Great Rift, a ribbon of dark space that divides the Milky Way.
Comparable undulating curves appear in the astronomical ceiling in the tomb of Seti I and as part of representations of Nut in the tombs of Ramesses IV, VI, and IX, Graur explained in his paper, identifying these features as “the first visual depiction of the Milky Way.”
In an email to Hyperallergic, Graur said these images can help us reconstruct perceptions of the sky across civilizations and eras. “I’m interested in the ways different cultures around the world and throughout time have conceptualized the Milky Way and worked it into their religions, mythologies, and cultures,” Graur told Hyperallergic.
“In some cases, this imagery also finds expression in visual art, as is the case in Ancient Egypt, but also in many, many other cultures,” Graur continued. “These visual expressions are not only beautiful in an aesthetic sense, but in showing underlying similarities in how completely different cultures visualize the heavens.”