Dendera light


The Dendera light is a motif carved as a set of stone reliefs in the Hathor temple at Dendera in Egypt, which superficially resemble modern electric lighting devices. A fringe hypothesis suggests that the Dendera light depicts advanced electrical technology possessed by the ancient Egyptians; mainstream Egyptologists however view the carvings as representing a typical set of symbolic images from Egyptian mythology. These depict a djed pillar and a lotus flower spawning a snake inside it, symbols of stability and fertility, respectively.

Mainstream interpretation

The view of Egyptologists is that the relief is a mythological depiction of a djed pillar and a lotus flower, spawning a snake within, representing aspects of Egyptian mythology. The djed pillar is a symbol of stability which is also interpreted as the backbone of the god Osiris. In the carvings the four horizontal lines forming the capital of the djed are supplemented by human arms stretching out, as if the djed were a backbone. The arms hold up the snake within the lotus flower. The snakes coming from the lotus symbolize fertility, linked to the annual Nile flood.

Fringe interpretation

In contrast to the mainstream interpretation, a fringe hypothesis proposes that the reliefs depict Ancient Egyptian electrical technology, based on comparison to similar modern devices. J. N. Lockyer's passing reference to a colleague's humorous suggestion that electric lamps would explain the absence of lampblack deposits in the tombs has sometimes been forwarded as an argument supporting this particular interpretation.
Proponents of this interpretation have also used a text referring to "high poles covered with copper plates" to argue this, but Bolko Stern has written in detail explaining why the copper-covered tops of poles do not relate to electricity or lightning, pointing out that no evidence of anything used to manipulate electricity had been found in Egypt and that this was a magical and not a technical installation.
Archaeologist and debunker Kenneth Feder argued that if ancient Egyptians really had such advanced technology, some light bulb remains should have been discovered during archaeological excavations. By applying the Occam's razor, he instead highlighted the feasibility of the aforementioned reflective mirrors system, and also that the notion of adding salt to torches to minimize lampblack was well known by ancient Egyptians.