Lights of the Pharaohs: the Electric Lights in Egypt?

In the Egyptian temple of Hathor at Dendera, several dozens of kilometers
north of Luxor, there are reliefs interpreted by some “experts” as electric lamps.

The “Dendera light” is a technological innovation of electric powered lighting style apparently on the market in historical The red sea, recommended by some edge experts. Supporter dispute that the technological innovation is portrayed in the Hathor brow at the Dendera Temple complicated placed in The red sea on three diamond reliefs (one single and a increase representation), which appear to be some modern electical lighting style systems. Egyptologists decline the concept and describe the reliefs as a common set of outstanding pictures from Silk mythology.

Mainstream view

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 view

In contrast to the mainstream interpretation, there is a fringe hypothesis according to which the reliefs depict Ancient Egyptian electrical technology, based on comparison to similar modern devices (such as Geissler tubes, Crookes tubes, and arc lamps).

n his book “The Eyes of the Sphinx” pp. 171-173, Erich Von Däniken writes that the relief is found in “a secret crypt” that “can be accessed only through a small opening. The room has a low ceiling. The air is stale and laced with the smell of dried urine from the guards who occasionally use it as a urinal.” The room is not so secret, however, as many tourists visit and photograph the room every year. Von Däniken sees the snake as a filament, the djed pillar as an insulator, and claims that “the monkey with the sharpened knives symbolizes the danger that awaits those who do not understand the device.” This “device” is, the reader is assured, an ancient electric light bulb.

Dendera Lamp exhibit at the Mystery Park in Switzerland. It shows “fringe” (electric lamp) interpretation of the famous Egyptian relief from Dendera

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 (another argument being made is the use of a system of reflective mirrors). Proponents of this interpretation have also used a text referring to “high poles covered with copper plates” to argue this but Dr. Bolko Stern has written in detail explaining why the copper covered tops of poles (which were lower than the associated pylons) 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.      — From Wikipedia