Dendera Lightbulb

The Dendera Lightbulb

The concept of the Dendera Lightbulb comes from a set of inscriptions located on a chamber wall in the Temple of Hathor in Egypt. The depictions show what is theorized to be a version of a lightbulb known as a "crookes tube". The pseudoarcheaological interpretation of the artifact is that of an ancient lightbulb, which is seen as proof of ancient civilizations having access to advanced technologies. The depictions are seen as representing a bulb with a filament winding through the middle, with a socket that connects a cord to a box battery underneath the bulb which is being held up by a two armed pillar. But when considering the cultural and historical contexts associated with the depiction, there is a much larger story to tell.

Dendera Lightbulb Depiction

The Dendera Lightbulb is used as supposed evidence of ancient technology, much like other artifacts such as the Baghdad Battery.

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History of Hathor Temple

Home to the Dendera Lightbulb, Hathor temple lies within the Dandarah temple complex south of Qena along the West Nile in Egypt. This ancient Egyptian temple remains one of the most well-preserved pieces of Egyptian Architecture to date, and contains many pieces of archaeological and cultural evidence about ancient Egypt. The Hathor temple plays a major role in Egyptian history, it was a prominent site for the cult of Hathor, and acted as a sanctuary for healing, rituals, and celebrations. Hathor temple has undergone several bouts of reconstruction over many different historical periods, but it's original construction can date back to the rule of Ptolemy XII, but wasn't completed until the reign of Queen Cleopatra VII between 54-20 BCE.

Uses of the Temple

The Hathor Temple played an important role in Egyptian religious practices and celebrations. It is at this very temple where important religious ceremonies were played out, such as the Sokar festival which consisted of a burial ritual led by the priestesses of Hathor also known as Senet. Understanding the ritualistic and intended purposes for the temple is essential in understanding the contextual evidence that debunks the concept of the Dendera lightbulb. Many of the festivals and rituals that took place at Hathor temple revolve around the concept of death and rebirth, harkening to the temples patron the goddess Hathor and her representation as mother of the deceased. Many of the depictions that are found on the walls of the temple of Hathor represents this cycle of life and death that is so closely connected to the goddess, including the Dendera lightbulb inscriptions themselves.

Hathor Goddess

The goddess Hathor plays an important and multifaceted role within ancient Egyptian culture and religion. Hathor was a many faced goddess and was a deity of many crucial cultural elements in ancient Egypt. Not only was Hathor the counterpart to major God Horus, but she was also represented concepts such as beauty, love, fertility, as well as music and dancing. Hathor was a feminine goddess who was represented in many forms, suiting to her dynamic nature. She is often depicted with cow horns atop her head representing her motherly nature and symbiology. Worship of Hathor took place all throughout Egypt, but the Hathor temple is the largest and most well known site dedicated to the goddess and her partner Horus.

Pseudoarcheological Interpretation

The Dendera Lightbulb has been represented in multiple popular media sources, bringing major attention to this site. Most notably, the Dendera Lightbulb made an appearance in popular History channel original, Ancient Aliens. The concept of advanced ancient technology based on the Dendera depictions can even be found in the novel Eye of the Sphinx by the world renowned ancient alien theorist Eric Van Däniken. There were two theorists in particular who first introduced the concept of the Dendera Lightbulb.Peter Krassa and Reinhard Habeck were the first to mention of the this theory in their novel Das Licht der Pharaonen (1992). There are a few key pieces of evidence that are used to support the theory that the Dendera Lightbulb depictions represent advanced technology. The first, and one of the main pieces of evidence that is used, is the lack of black soot in the tomb that is found and associated with the use of torches. Torches were the main source of artificial lighting during this period in history, a tool that left distinctive markings of their use upon tomb walls and ceilings. At the Hathor temple site, these markings are unusually absent, hinting at the possibility that an alternate light source was in use in the temple. Fringe theorists also counter the claim lack of tangible archaeological evidence by claiming that the rituals revolving around the ancient technology would have been an underground affair with the artifacts being destroyed post use. While this remains a possibility, when confronted with the pure lack of factual evidence this theory loses its validity.

Lightbulb Reconstruction

Theorists have even gone as far as creating real life replications of the lightbulb that is represented in the Egyptian relief.

Deconstructing the Narrative

While the Dendera Lightbulb interpretation makes for an interesting theory about the meaning behind the depictions, when faced with the archeological and cultural evidence associated with the site, the theory begins to rapidly fall apart. Perhaps the greatest factor in debunking the theory is the other depictions which provide context for the Dendera Lightbulb relief. By studying the actual archaeological evidence associated with the site, it clear to see there is an alternate meaning behind the depiction. Based off of gathered historic and cultural knowledge relating to ancient Egyptian religion and mythology the Dendera Light relief paints a much different picture.

Symbolism

The true meaning behind the ancient inscriptions relates to the human origin story as told by Egyptian mythology. The real meaning behind the relief is a well known Egyptian creation myth. There are multiple reliefs as the site which recite this myth and the symbolism associated with the relics is well known. The believed socket which connects the "bulb" and "filament" to the "battery" is actually a lotus, an ancient symbol for life and rebirth in Egyptian mythology. The "bulb" is actually representative of the primordial waters in which all living things came into existence, with the "filament" actually being a snake which represents the Egyptian God Ra and his ascent through these primordial waters into creation. The Djed pillar which can be found in many Egyptian reliefs, is representative of endurance, strength, and stability. The Dendera Lightbulb relief portrays a cycle of death and rebirth, the snake represents to flow of life to the hands of death represented by the god of death and underworld who rests at the end of the bubble feature. Hathor temple was a religious destination with many festivals and rituals associated with the this cycle of life and death, as the goddess Hathor was the symbolic mother of both humans and gods. This relief as well as the many others on the walls of Hathor Temple, are reflective of the uses of the Temple, and provide cultural context for the religious activities being done at the site.

Archaeological Evidence

The biggest factor which proves this theory invalid is the pure lack of archeological evidence to support the claim. If ancient Egyptians were to have a form of ancient technology in the form of lightbulbs, there would surely be some kind of archaeological evidence that could provide support for such a theory. Alas, no such evidence has been found. Within the temple and in the complex there should be glass remnants associated with lightbulb technology, an archaeological feature that is seemingly missing at the site. The lack of soot in relation to torches has been a prominent argument of fringe theorists, but through recent work on the site, large amounts of soot were actually found at the site and was cleared away. This indicated that torches were indeed used inside the temple, rather than the electric technology that was claimed to exist.