Egyptian Light Bulb - PLAUSIBLE

A Discussion on the Plausibility of the Dendera Lights as a form of Ancient Electrical Engineering Technology

by Prophessor A.C.E. 

(AfricanCreationEnergy.com)

November 12, 2015

Contents: 
1. Statement of Purpose
2. Introduction
3. The African Origin of Atomic Philosophy
4. Translations of the Text of the Dendera Lights
5. What We Learn from the Translations of the Text
6. Comparative Analysis
7. Addressing Misinformation
8. Conclusion

1. Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of this presentation is:

1. To show that the Ancient Egyptian reliefs known as the "Dendera Lights" fit in with the expected chronology of time it would take to develop electrical technology based on the point in time when it is said by preeminent scholars like George G.M. James and Theophile Obenga that the Ancient Egyptians had a philosophy of the atom.
2. To show that based on translations of the texts, the components depicted and described in the Medu Neter hieroglyphics associated with the "Dendera Lights" correspond symbolically, metaphorically, and in meaning and function, to the components needed to build a cathode ray tube electrical light source.
3. To present a Historical argument for the Plausibility (neither debunked, nor confirmed) of the Dendera Lights as an Ancient Egyptian Electrical Light source.  And, to demonstrate in practical application that since the Dendera Lights can be built using items and terms corresponding to the components described in the Medu Neter hieroglyphics of the text, then the Dendera Lights serve as a tool that can be operatively used to teach certain principles of Electrical Engineering in African Centered Educational (A.C.E.) settings using African symbology.
4. To address the misinformation that has been disseminated on this topic to date.

2. Introduction (from Atomic Philosophy, to Technology Based on Atomic Philosophy):
Let us initiate the discussion by presenting a time-line of key Electrical-Engineering accomplishments which are relevant to our discussion:

• 450 BC        - Democritus develops philosophy of the atom
• 250 BC        - Baghdad Battery* - a primitive battery discovered in Mesopotamia
• 1802 AD     - Chemist Humphry Davy's Electric Light Bulb
• 1869 AD     - William Crooke’s Cathode Ray Tube
• 1897 AD     - J.J. Thomson “discovers” empirical evidence of the atom and the electron through his work with the Cathode Ray Tube.

With the exception of the "250 BC Baghdad Battery", all of the points on timeline presented above are generally accepted as valid in academia and by mainstream science.  However, although the Baghdad Battery is considered controversial as an actual primitive battery, popular scientific television shows like Mythbusters  on their season 03 episode entitled "Cooling a Six-pack" concluded that it was PLAUSIBLE that the Baghdad Battery was used in Ancient times for electroplating, acupuncture therapy, and testing spiritual resolve ("experiencing god").  The fact that there has been a significant effort to deem the Mesopotamia Baghdad Battery as a "Plausible" form of ancient technology, while simultaneously disseminating misinformation about the Egyptian Dendera Lights in an effort to "debunk" the plausibility or possibility of Ancient African Technology, is part of a greater agenda that can be observed in the field of archaeological which attempts to promote Ancient Mesopotamia over Ancient Egypt.  Historical pundits will say that Ancient Mesopotamia is the "cradle of civilization" even though the civilizations along the Ancient Egyptian Nile River Valley are older.  Linguistic pundits will say that the Ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform writing is older than the Ancient Egyptian Medu Neter Hieroglyphics.  Architectural pundits will say that the oldest Mesopotamian Ziggurat is older than the oldest Ancient Egyptian Pyramid.  And now, technological pundits will try to say that the Baghdad Battery is Plausible, and the Dendera Lights have been "debunked".  Unfortunately, many of the older arguments presented by personalities like von Däniken, Krassa, and Habeck to justify the interpretation of the Dendera Lights as a form of Ancient Technology, were based on a shaky foundation.  However, as we will show later in this presentation, the argument to "debunk" the Dendera Lights as a form of Ancient Technology was also fallacious.  This presentation will demonstrate that the criteria to deem the Dendera Lights as a "Plausible" form of Ancient Technology is equal to, if not greater than, any of the criteria used to deem the Baghdad Battery as Plausible. 

From the timeline of  Electrical Engineering accomplishments above, it is important to note the 2347 year gap between Democritus’ "Atomist philosophy" (450 BC) and the Empirical Evidence of the atom and the electron made possible by the technological device called the Cathode Ray Tube (1897 AD).  This is important because it provides a benchmark of how much time it took to develop "technology based on the philosophy of the atom".

Additionally, since the "technology based on the philosophy of the atom" which led to discovering empirical evidence of the atom was the Cathode Ray Tube, we want to describe the components, construction, and function of a Cathode Ray Tube.

Figure 1: Cathode Ray Tube

Figure 1 above depicts a schematic of a Cathode Ray Tube.  The basic components needed to construct a Cathode Ray Tube are:

• a glass container, either evacuated to produce a vacuum, or filled with inert gas
• a Power Supply source
• two metal objects, one leading from the Cathode end of the Power source into the Glass Container, and one leading from the Anode end of the power source

When voltage is applied across the two metal electrodes, a beam of electrons called a "Cathode Ray" can be observed streaming from the cathode, through the glass container, to the anode.  It is important to note that regardless if the device is constructed with the anode inside of the glass container, or outside touching the glass container, and the stream of electrons can still be observed traveling through the container from the cathode to the anode.  In addition to the Electron Beam, the glass begins to light up and glow, due to electrons traveling inside the glass.  Electric light bulbs operate on principles similar to the Cathode Ray Tube.

3. The African Origin of Atomic Philosophy
Scholars like Martin Bernal with his book “Black Athena”, Théophile Obenga in his book “African Philosophy : The Pharaonic Period : 2780 - 330 BC”, Cheikh Anta Diop in his book “Civilization or Barbarism”, and George G.M. James in his book “Stolen Legacy” have shown and proven that Greek philosophy had it’s origins in Ancient Egypt.  In particular, as it relates to our discussion, Democritus’ philosophy of the Atom, came from the Ancient Egyptian philosophy associated with the Neter (deity) Atum.  Additionally, Democritus’ philosophy that atoms fill space as the Mind (nous) or World Soul is derived from the Ancient Egyptian Memphite Theology of Ptah.  The earliest empirical evidence of the Ancient Egyptian Neter (deity) Atum dates back to around 2400 BC in the Pyramid texts.  Atum is mentioned many times throughout the Pyramid Texts and Ptah is mentioned only 3 times vaguely in the Pyramid Texts.  The earliest empirical evidence of the Memphite Theology of Ptah dates back to around 700 BC on an artifact known as the Shabaka Stone.

A comparative analysis of the content of the Memphite Theology of Ptah and the philosophy associated with the Ancient Egyptian Neter (deity) Atum to our modern scientific Big Bang Theory Cosmology shows striking similarities. 

Figure 2: Ancient Egyptian Cosmology Compared to Modern Big Bang Theory Cosmology

In the graphical representation of Ancient Egyptian cosmology in Figure 2 above, what we observe is that the Ancient Egyptian concept of Zep Tepi, often translated as meaning "the first time", corresponds to the "big bang" which initiated creation in our modern scientific cosmology.  Next, on line 1 of Figure 2 above, the Ancient Egyptian concept of Nun corresponds to the “primordial waters”, the primordial hot and dense state which existed immediately after the big bang.  It is important to note that the Ancient Egyptian conceptualization of the cosmogony of the Universe as “primordial water” is one of the reasons why the Ancient Egyptians depicted celestial objects like suns and star constellations on metaphorical “solar boats” and “stellar boats” moving through the cosmos, because the “primordial water” was symbolic of the ocean of primordial subatomic matter from which suns and stars were created.    On line 2 of Figure 2 above, we see two variants which exist in Ancient Egyptian Cosmology: on the left is the Primordial Mound, associated with the Ancient Egyptian Neter (deity) Ptah which is found in the Memphite Theology, and on the right is the Primordial Lotus which is found in the Heliopolitan Theology.  Variations of symbols is something that can be observed over time and in different locations in the study of Ancient Egyptian cosmology, however, even when the symbols (variables) change, the context of the overall cosmology generally remains constant.  In both variations, the Primordial Mound (Ptah) and the Primordial Lotus rise from the primordial waters of Nun, and correspond to the point where energy is converted into subatomic particles (quarks and electrons) in our modern scientific cosmology of the big bang theory. On line 3 of Figure 2 above, the Neter (deity) Atum as Nefertum, symbolized as a young man, comes forth from either the Primordial Mound or the Primordial Lotus, depending on the variant of the cosmology, and corresponds with the point where Atoms are formed in our modern scientific cosmology of the big bang theory.  It is important to note that not only is there a phonetic and etymological relationship between the word "Atom" and the Ancient Egyptian "Atum", but they also come into being at the same points in the Ancient Egyptian Cosmology and the Cosmology associated with the Big Bang Theory.  On line 3 of Figure 2 above, Atum becomes Atum-Re, symbolic of the Sun and stars, and corresponds to the point where suns and stars are formed in our modern scientific cosmology of the big bang theory. On line 5 of Figure 2 above, Atum-Re gives birth to 8 other beings, who collectively make up the Ancient Egyptian Ennead, and this corresponds to the point where the Sun gives birth to the 8 other planets of our solar system in our modern scientific cosmology of the big bang theory.  It is important to note that everything on line 3 and below in Figure 2 is Atomic and sub-atomic (particle physics), and everything on line 4 and above in Figure 2 is astronomical (observational astronomy), and the Ancient Egyptians made a point to delineate and distinguish the two using different symbols, but united the concepts of observational astronomy and particle physics into a single scientific cosmology just like our modern scientific cosmology of the big bang theory.  This content is relevant to our discussion because it is important to know what symbols the Ancient Egyptians associated with particle physics in their cosmological philosophy.

From the preceding paragraphs in this section on the "African Origin of Atomic Philosophy", we have established the content and symbols of the Ancient Egyptian Atomic Philosophy, as well as identified a timeline of the earliest evidence of the Ancient Egyptian Atomic Philosophy:

• 2400 BC     - Pyramid Texts - earliest empirical record mentioning Atum and Ptah
• 700 BC       - Shabaka Stone  - earliest written evidence of the Memphite Theology

It is important to note that these two points on our timeline of Ancient Egyptian Atomic Philosophy are just "philosophies" (ideas and thoughts - Science and Mathematics) and not practical application and usage of the philosophy (Engineering and Technology).  The purpose of this article, and what we are searching for, is practical application of the philosophy (Seba).  Recall that there was a  2347 year gap between Democritus’ Atomist philosophy, and technology based on the atomist philosophy in the form of the technological device called the “Cathode Ray Tube”.  So, we would expect a similar amount of time to pass for the Ancient Egyptians to develop a similar form of technology based on their philosophy.  Subtracting 2347 from 2400 BC (the earliest evidence of Atum - the Ancient Egyptian's atomist philosophy), we get the year 53 BC as the estimated date when we would expect to see some form of technology based on the Ancient Egyptian’s practical use of their theory of the Atom.

So as we conclude this section on the "African Origin of Atomic Philosophy", we have established criteria of what we will be looking for in order to identify evidence of any form of technology the Ancient Egyptian may have developed based on their philosophy of the atom.  If the Ancient Egyptians Had Knowledge of Electrical Technology:

• We would expect the Ancient Egyptians to describe the technology in symbolism associated with their cosmology and philosophy related to Atum and the use of the technology would probably also be related to their cosmology uniting observational astronomy and particle physics.
• We would expect evidence of the technology to exist around the year 50 BC, 2350 years after the earliest evidence of their theory of the atom (philosophy of Atum), because it took 2350 years for European scientists to have technology in the form of the Cathode Ray Tube after Democritus’ philosophy of the Atom.
• We would be looking for some form of technology similar to the cathode ray tube, and thus The Ancient Egyptians would also have to describe: 1) The “source of power” or “spark” for the technology; 2) The metal electrodes; 3) A transparent container containing a vacuum or filled with an inert gas; 4) The way these components would be assembled; and 5) The light produced by the device.

In the Ancient Egyptian reliefs known as the "Dendera Lights", all of these conditions are satisfied as we will discuss in the coming sections. 

4. Translations of the Text of the Dendera Lights
The Ancient Egyptian reliefs known as the "Dendera Lights" refer to 7 unique images found in two buildings from the Dendera Temple Complex in Egypt.  There are 6 "Dendera Lights" images in 2 rooms of the Hathor Temple at Dendera (the largest building).  The images in the Hathor Temple at Dendera are located in the following rooms:

• 2 images on the South Wall of the South Crypt Chamber (labeled SC in Figure 3 below)
• 1 image on the North Wall of the South Crypt Chamber (labeled SC in Figure 3 below)
• 1 image on the South Wall of Chapel G (labeled G in Figure 3 below)
• 2 images on the North Wall of Chapel G (labeled G in Figure 3 below)

Also, there is 1 image on an interior wall of the older Temple of the birth of Isis (Iseum) building behind the Hathor Temple.  The purpose of the Building was for celebrations associated with scientific cosmological events.  The building included a room described as a "laboratory", and ceilings which depicted astronomical constellations and the birth and cosmogony of the universe.  In Chapel G, two of the cosmological events celebrated were the festival of the "New Year" and a festival called "the Night of the Child in His Nest."    

Figure 3: Hathor Temple and Iseum (Temple of the Birth of Isis) at the Dendera Temple Complex

The Dendera Temple Complex has been extensively studied by several French Egyptologists named Sylvie Cauville, François Daumas, and Zeinab El-Kordy, and one German Egyptologist named Wolfgang Waitkus.  The complete Hieroglyphic text accompanying the "Dendera Lights" reliefs have been translated from the Medu Neter into French, and from the Medu Neter into German.  Also, since the translators of the text were French and German speakers, then most of the detailed academic scholarship on the subject is also in French and German, which is one of the reasons why so much misinformation, partial information, speculation, and lack of clarity exists among English speakers.  At the time of this writing, there has not been an academic publication released where there was a direct translation of the text associated with the "Dendera Lights" reliefs from the Medu Neter Hieroglyphics into English.  At the time of this writing, any English translation available of the text associated with the "Dendera Lights" reliefs was either translated from the Medu Neter into French, and then from French into English, or translated from the Medu Neter into German, and then from German into English, from one of the following resources:

• Wolfgang Waitkus - “Die Texte in den unteren Krypten des Hathortempels von Dendera : ihre Aussagen zur Funktion und Bedeutung dieser Ra¨ume (The texts in the lower crypts of the Hathor temple of Dendera: their statements about the function and importance of this space) [UGA Library, Call Number: PJ1526.D36 W35 1997  PubDate:1997; Call Number: Folio PJ1526 .D36 W35 1997  PubDate:1997; Located: University of Georgia, Main Library 3rd floor]
• Wolfgang Waitkus - “Die Geburt des Harsomtus aus der Blüte - Zur Bedeutung und Funktion einiger Kultgegenstände des Tempels von Dendera” (“The Birth of Harsomtus from the flower - the significance and function of some cult objects of the Temple of Dendera” published in 2002)
• Sylvie Cauville - Dendara II, Dendara V-VI Traduction Les cryptes du temple d'Hathor,  Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta ("Dendera II, Dendara V-VI Translation of The crypts of the Temple of Hathor", published in 1997)
• Zeinab El-Kordy - "Deux Actudes sur Harsomtous: 1 - Le lever d'Harsomtous A Dendara; 2 - Harcomtous, dieu solaire, primordial et créateur" ("Two Studies on Harsomtous: 1 - The Sunrise at Harsomtous; 2 - Harsomtous, Sun God, Primordial God, Creator God" published in 1982)
• François Daumas and Émile Chassinat - Le temple de Dendara VI-VIII ("The Temple Dendara, VI-VIII" published 1965 - 1978)

The following English translations of the text associated with the Dendera Lights were translated from either French or German from one of the aforementioned resources, into English using Google Translate software.  The "full wall facsimile" images below come from Zeinab El-Kordy's paper entitled "Deux Actudes sur Harsomtous" (http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bifao/Bifao082_art_10.pdf).  The translated text below appears in blue colored font.     

Figure 4: 2 Dendera Lights images on the South Crypt (SC) - South Wall of the Hathor Temple of Dendera

Full Translation of the South Wall of the South Crypt (SC) (Source: Waitkus - German):
Banner Across the Top: Re-Sema-Tawy is alive with gloss in the sky (and) lives at the day of the New Year celebration. He lights up in its house in “the night of the child in his nest”, by donating the light to the country from the birth bricks. The sky is jubilant, the earth is pleased and the God chapels is glad, when he appears in his chamber in his procession barge at his beautiful celebration of the New Year.  The God with his disk has come to see him. Nehebkau gives him reputation, and the goddess with her disk, with godly body, rejuvenates him in his sanctuary.  Taweret is content because of her majesty. She praises Re because of him with praise for his Ka, with wine from the wine area and meat bits on the altar before him.  The "land-of-Atum" (= Dendera) is prepared with his most distinguished plan, as Hu and Sia are subordinated to him. He may protect the son of Re (empty king cartouche), forever.
Title of the south wall:  Bringing of the amulets made of gold.  Speak: To speak words: This is the protection of your majesty for the celebration, in ktmt gold. 
King: The king of upper and lower Egypt (cartouche with the name of Ptolemy XII Auletes 54 B.C.), the son of Re (cartouche with another name of the same king).
Ihi: Words to speak of Ihi, the great, the son of the Hathor, the noble child with shining plait: I please your heart with glories for your person, and I drive rage out with spells.  Royal edge line:  I came to you, to your place (destroyed section). Beautiful one, whose looks are perfect. I have the Amulet of gold (destroyed section) attached with live on the day of the celebration (destroyed section) of your body.
Aset: Words to speak of Isis, the great, the gods mother, lady of jat dj, who stays in Dendera, the beginning with whose arrival the earth began, turquoise skin and lapis lazuli like head.
Har-Sema-Tawy [Snake]: Words to speak of Har-Sema-Tawy, the great god who stays in Dendera. Gold, height: 4 hands (≈11.7 inches). Made of metal the Day barge, the lotus flower from gold.
Har-Sema-Tawy [Falcon]: Words to speak of Har-Sema-Tawy, the great God, who stays in Dendera, the multicolored-feathered who is on the Serech. Gold. Height: 1 cubit (≈20.5 inches) .
Ihi: Words to speak of Ihi, the great, the son of the Hathor, Re in its shape of the great God, who appears with the diadem as a king of jztj (Egypt) and as a master of the Sed festival,: You reign Dendera millionfold from the nhh eternity to the completion of the Djed eternity. Gold. Height: 1 cubit (≈20.5 inches) .
Har-Sema-Tawy [Snake emerging from the Lotus inside the "bubble" on the right]: Words to speak of Har-Sema-Tawy, the great, who stays in Dendera, the living Ba in the Lotus flower of the day barge, whose perfection the two arms of the Djed pillar carry as its sekhem image (powerful form), while the Ka's on its knees are with bent arms. Gold. All precious stones, height: 3 hands (≈8.8 inches) .
Har-Sema-Tawy [Snake emerging from the Lotus inside the "bubble" on the left]: Words to speak of Har-Sema-Tawy, the great, who stays in Dendera, who is in the arms of the princes in the night barge, the noble snake, whose figure Heh carries, whose crew carries his perfection in holiness, because of whose Ba which appearing (Hathor) appeared in the sky, whose shape is admired by admirers, who comes as unique, enveloped by his head serpents, with numerous names at the point of chw.n=sn (Gods with relationship with the Hathor), the sekhem picture of Atum-Re in the Land of the father of the Gods (= Dendera), who created everything. Gold, metal, height: 4 hands (≈11.7 inches).

Figure 5: 1 Dendera Light image on the South Crypt (SC) - North Wall of the Hathor Temple of Dendera

Translation of the text associated with the Dendera Light image from the North Wall of the South Crypt (SC) (Source: Cauville - French):
The text describes this scene as follows:
Har-Sema-Tawy is emerging from the Lotus in a hn - protective envelope in the “Day Barque”. There are four figures in the “Day barque”: Heh, the figure in front of him (= the god S-t), the  lotus is behind him, and the water below him. Gold, height: 4 cubits (≈81.9 inches = 6’9” feet).
Behind Heh, is a creature with the head of a frog and the body of a baboon named UPU, holding two knives. The text describes: Your name is perfect UPU. Your face is (that of) a frog. I slaughter your enemies (in) the country, with a knife, and (I) kills on your enemies (in bed) block.

Figure 6: 2 Dendera Light images on the Chapel G - North Wall of the Hathor Temple of Dendera

Translation of the text associated with the Dendera Light image from the North Wall of Chapel G (Source: Cauville - French):
The text for the leftmost snake inside the bubble inside the lotus describes:
Har-Sema-Tawy in his boat. Height three fingers (≈2.25 inches) . Gold and all precious stones.
The three lines of texts, above the next snake reads:
Har-Sema-Tawy of Upper and Lower Egypt, Snake rising out of the lotus. A protective-envelope (hn) is around him. The sekhem power is in his arms. Four statues (are) with human faces. The statue is Heh is in the front on a pedestal, and before him are two statues in front of the Lotus.  At the head of the boat is UPU, the Frog face, with knife is in his hand.

Figure 7: 1 Dendera Light images on the Chapel G - South Wall of the Hathor Temple of Dendera

Translation of the text associated with the Dendera Light image from the South Wall of Chapel G (Source: Cauville - French):
The text describes:
Words to speak of Har-Sema-Tawy: the great god, consort of Dendera, which rises as the Living BA from the lotus. The crew of the “Night Barque” form his divine perfect KA, and raise his sanctified figure (ssm). The couriers of his KA are prestigious. Gold, height: 1 cubit (≈20.5 inches) .

Figure 8: 1 Dendera Light images on the Interior Wall of the Temple of the Birth of Isis Iseum of Dendera

Translation of the text associated with the Dendera Light image from the Interior Wall of The Temple of the Birth of Isis Iseum (Source: Cauville - French):
 The text describes:
Words to speak of Har-Sema-Tawy: The Djed raises his body, the primordial carries his image of worship, the courtiers of his ka bear his prestige.

5. What We Learn from the Translations of the Text:
From the translations of the Medu Neter Hieroglyphic text accompanying the “Dendera Light” reliefs, we learn the following key points relevant to our discussion:

• The  Dendera Light reliefs referred to actual Physical objects
• How the Physical Objects depicted in the Dendera Lights images were Used
• The Date the Dendera Light reliefs were carved
• The identity of the components which make up the Dendera Lights

The Dendera Light Relief Reliefs referred to actual Physical Objects:  We learn from the translations of the text accompanying the “Dendera Light” reliefs that the reliefs referred to actual Physical Objects, because in every translation accompanying the Dendera Light images in the Hathor Temple of Dendera, the materials and the sizes of the physical objects are indicated.  We know that there was variation in the sizes of the objects which ranged from as small as 2.25 inches to as large as 82 inches in height.  The materials that the physical objects were composed of included Gold, metal, and “all precious stones”.  It is important to note that the phrase “all precious stones” can be found in the text of various catalogs of objects that the Ancient Egyptians kept.  One such catalog comes from the Tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamen in the description of the materials used for a "Cloisonné breastplate of Horus" and a "Scarab pectoral" (shown in Figure 9 below).

Figure 9: Cloisonné breastplate of Horus and Scarab pectoral from the tomb of Tutankhamen showing “all precious stones” of amber, lapis-lazuli, and faience glass

In the catalog, the amber, lapis-lazuli, and faience glass used on the objects were described as “all precious stones.”  The phrase “all precious stones” also referred to other materials the Ancient Egyptians were known to work with including alabaster and quartz.  Additionally, unlike the Dendera Light relief images on the walls of the South Crypt Chamber (Figure 4 and Figure 5), the Dendera Light relief images on the walls in Chapel G (Figure 6 and Figure 7, “Partial Photo”) were in color.  And although the relief images are partially destroyed, it can still be observed that materials of different colors were used in the depiction, and possibly even construction, of the physical objects to which the Dendera Light relief images referred.  The table below shows a summary of the sizes and materials used for the physical objects to which the Dendera Light relief images referred based on the translation of the texts which accompanied the images.

How the Physical Objects depicted in the Dendera Lights images were Used: We learn from the translation of the South Crypt Chamber South Wall “Banner Across the Top” that the physical objects were used for cosmological celebrations of the New Year and the “Night of the Child in his Nest” festival from the phrase: “Re-Sema-Tawy is alive with gloss in the sky (and) lives at the day of the New Year celebration. He lights up in its house in “the night of the child in his nest”, by donating the light to the country from the birth bricks.”

The Date the Dendera Light reliefs were carved:  We learn the date the Dendera Light reliefs were carved (and possibly the physical objects were crafted) from the translations of the South Crypt Chamber South Wall.  The South Crypt Chamber South Wall has two cartouches containing the name of Ptolemy XII Auletes, who reigned around the year 54 BC.

The identity of the components which make up the Dendera Lights: The translation of the text accompanying all 7 of the Dendera Lights images provides a consistent description of the identity of the individual components which came together to create the Dendera Lights physical objects.  The components identified are:

• Seshen – Lotus Flower
• KA – the figure(s) of the person on its knees
• BA – the snake emerging from the Lotus Flower
• Har-Sema-Tawy - the name of the Primordial Serpent emerging from the Lotus Flower
• hn – the protective envelope container around the snake emerging from the Lotus Flower
• Djed Pillar – holding up the vessel containing the snake coming out of the Lotus in the “Day Boat”
• Heh – holding up the vessel containing the snake coming out of the Lotus in the “Night Boat”

As was discussed in the section on “The African Origin of Atomic Philosophy”, in Egyptian Cosmology, the Lotus flower represented a source of light and corresponded to the point where energy is converted into subatomic particles in our modern scientific cosmology of the big bang theory. 

The “Ka” is translated variously from Ancient Egyptian language as “divine spark" or spirit or double” and the “Ba” is translated variously as “characteristics or personality or soul”.  To the Ancient Egyptians, the Ka and the Ba could be united by Nehebkau (whose name means “bringing together the Ka and the Ba” and is mentioned in the translation of the South Crypt Chamber South Wall “Banner Across the Top”).  The result of uniting the  Ka and the Ba was the production of the “Akh” which is translated as meaning “light, radiance, brilliance, shine” in E.A Wallis Budge Hieroglyphic dictionary.  In the Dendera Lights images, the Ba is the snake coming out of the Lotus and the Ka is the “person on their knees”, and essentially the Ba and Ka would combine to produce Akh (light).

In Ancient Egyptian symbolism, the Djed Pillar represented “stability” and the Neter (deity) Heh represented infinity.  The Djed Pillar was present in the Dendera Light images of the “Day Boat” in the primordial waters.  Heh was present in the Dendera Light images of the “Night Boat” in the primordial waters.  Since Day and Night are dual opposite concepts, then in this context it is fair to interpret Heh (infinity) and Djed (stability) as dual opposite concepts like ∞ (infinity = filling) and 0 (stability = vacuuming).

The “protective envelope” or “bubble” around the snake emerging from the Lotus is described on the North Wall of Chapel G and the North Wall of the South Crypt in the Ancient Egyptian Medu Neter Hieroglyphics as a hn.  The word hn can be found on page 447 and 448 of E.A Wallis Budge’s 1920 Hieroglyphic Dictionary as hen and henu (plural).

Figure 10: hn – hen and henu (plural) from pages 447 and 448 of E.A Wallis Budge’s 1920 Hieroglyphic Dictionary

As one of the Egyptologists who actually translated the text associated with the “Dendera Lights” images from Medu Neter into French, Zeinab El-Kordy had this to say about the “bubble” around snake emerging from the Lotus in the Dendera Lights reliefs in the 1982 paper entitled “The Sunrise at Harsomtous”:  “It is certain that in the text the word hn refers to “the protective envelope surrounding the snake coming out of the lotus”. This is a new definition to be added in the dictionaries that define this word as “coffer” or “where manuscripts are kept” or “where helpful herbs for mummification are stored”.

This means that in the year 1982, the translation of the text accompanying the Dendera Lights images which described the vessel which contained the serpent emerging from the lotus with the word “hn” (hen) provided a new definition for the word which was not present in older dictionaries like E.A Wallis Budge’s 1920 Hieroglyphic Dictionary.  In his 2002 paper entitled “The Birth of Harsomtus from the flower - the significance and function of some cult objects of the Temple of Dendera,” Wolfgang Waitkus, one of the Egyptologists who actually translated the text associated with the “Dendera Lights” images from Medu Neter into German, translates the word hn as “tank, vessel, container, receptacle, canissier, jar, box”.  In the same paper, Wolfgang Waitkus also speculates that the container may have been actually transparent container since it was depicted as transparent in all of the Dendera Light images. Thus, it is quite possible that this hn (hen) transparent container was made out of a transparent material called a “precious stone” in the text such as faience glass.

People attempting to “debunk” the Dendera Lights have speculated that since the Medu Neter Hieroglyphic iterty, aterti, /itr.ty/ (in figure 11 below), which means “the primordial birth sanctuary environment in which the sun is born" (i.e. outer space), looks like the snake emerging from the lotus inside of the hn transparent container in the Dendera Lights images, then the two must be the same - However, as the translators of the text (Wolfgang Waitkus and Zeinab El-Kordy) have demonstrated in their discussion, this is simply incorrect.

Figure 11: iterty, aterti, /itr.ty/, meaning the primordial birth sanctuary environment in which the sun is born

Lastly, but most important, the translation of the text accompanying the Dendera Lights images informs us that the name of the snake emerging from the lotus inside of the hn transparent container is Har-Sema-Tawy (which was mispronounced and referred to as Harsomtous by the Greeks). Har-Sema-Tawy means “Horus unifier of the two Lands”.  The Medu Neter Hieroglyphic “Sema” which means “to unite” is a picture of lungs and a windpipe and thus will be used as a metaphor for hydrodynamics in the discussion in the next section.

Figure 12: Sema Hieroglyph, a picture of lungs and a windpipe (Hydrodynamics)

In the 1982 paper entitled “Harsomtous, sun god, primordial god, creator god”, One of the Egyptologists who actually translated the text associated with the “Dendera Lights” images from Medu Neter into French, Zeinab El-Kordy, discusses other texts related to Har-Sema-Tawy and a "Hymn to Har-Sema-Tawy" in the temple of Dendara, at the bottom of a window on the upper part of the east wall of the Central Hall (labeled Y on the map in Figure 3).  In the texts of the Dendera Lights, as well as the other supporting text, Zeinab El-Kordy shows that Har-Sema-Tawy has 2 distinct forms (Figure 13):

1. The Solar form of Har-Sema-Tawy is the Hawk
2. The Primordial form of Har-Sema-Tawy is the serpent, or a serpent emerging from the Lotus

Figure 13: A page from Zeinab El-Kordy’s 1982 paper entitled “Harsomtous, sun god, primordial god, creator god”

In the “Hymn to Har-Sema-Tawy” Zeinab El-Kordy discusses how Har-Sema-Tawy in his Primordial form as the serpent emerging from the Lotus “made the creation the first time (Zep Tepi)” and “came to existence in the beginning” and shows that Har-Sema-Tawy in his serpent form came to existence before his first solar form.  This is an extremely important point, and is a variant of Ancient Egyptian cosmology consistent with the previous discussion in the section on “The African Origin of Atomic Philosophy”.  In the Har-Sema-Tawy variant of Egyptian cosmology (shown in Figure 13), Har-Sema-Tawy in his serpent form emerges from the lotus and is created prior to Har-Sema-Tawy in his solar form as the Hawk.  This is why on every wall in the Hathor Temple of Dendera where there is a Dendera Light image, there is also an image of a Hawk.  Har-Sema-Tawy depicted as a serpent emerging from the Lotus DOES NOT represent the Sun.  Har-Sema-Tawy depicted as a Hawk represents the sun.  Har-Sema-Tawy depicted as a serpent emerging from the Lotus represents something “Primordial” (first and fundamental) which came into existence BEFORE the sun (i.e. atoms and electrons).  The Ancient Egyptians were intelligent enough to develop a scientific cosmology which united (Sema-Tawy) two principles using Har-Sema-Tawy: Observational Astronomy (the Sun) and Particle Physics (atoms and electrons).  This means that Har-Sema-Tawy depicted as a serpent emerging from the Lotus corresponds to the point in our modern scientific cosmology of the big bang theory where energy is converted into subatomic particles and Atoms begin to form.  Har-sema-tawy is mentioned as early as the time of the 11th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt (2061 BC - 2010 BC).

Additionally, one of the Egyptologists who actually translated the text associated with the “Dendera Lights” images from Medu Neter into French, François Daumas, had this to say about Har-sema-tawy in the book "Temple Dendara, VI-VIII":  “In the last room, one sees, carefully carved on the Southern wall, a falcon with detailed feathers, preceded by a snake emerging from a lotus blossom within a boat…These reliefs are cosmological representations. The snake that comes out of the lotus is equated with the shining deity Harsamtawy as he appears for the first time out of the primordial sea. He is again represented near the bottom of the crypt in the form of two snakes also coming forth, but this time wrapped in lotuses like protective envelopes…”

Figure 14: Har-Sema-Tawy variant of Egyptian cosmology

6. Comparative Analysis

From the translations of the text associated with the Dendera Lights, we know that the Dendera Lights already meets two of our four criteria and stipulations for the Plausibility argument of the Dendera Lights as a form of Ancient Egyptian Electrical Engineering Technology.  We know that the Dendera Lights we physical objects (technology) which were created around the year 54 BC, and we know the Ancient Egyptians used the Dendera Lights technology in relation to their cosmological celebrations uniting observational astronomy and particle physics.  The other two criteria and stipulations for our Plausibility argument are that we are looking for a form of technology similar to the cathode ray tube, and we would expect the Ancient Egyptians to describe the technology, and the components of the technology using symbolism associated with their atomic cosmology and philosophy.  Therefore, this section will present a comparative analysis between the components described in the translation of the text of the Dendera Lights to the components of a Cathode Ray Tube.

Figure 15: Comparative Analysis between Components Described in the Text of the Dendera Lights reliefs to a Cathode Ray Tube Electrical Light Source

Figure 15 above shows the relationship between the components described in the translation of the text of the Dendera Lights to the components of a Cathode Ray Tube.  We know from the translation of the Dendera Lights text that the materials which were used to construct the physical objects were Gold, Metal, and “all precious stones” (possibly amber, lapis-lazuli, alabaster, quartz, and/or faience glass).  Additionally, recall that the Dendera Light images in Chapel G were in color, and although partially destroyed, we can see from the images that the entire object was not all one metal, all one color, or all one material.  We can see that the hn (hen) container was indeed transparent.  In the Chapel G Dendera Light images, Har-Sema-Tawy appears as the same color as the arms of the Djed pillar and the Neter Heh and looks like, and is indicated in the text that, it was made of Gold.  Also in the Chapel G Dendera Light images Lotus flower and horizontal columns of the Djed Pillar appear in a different color, which on the current partially destroyed image, appears bluish-green.  With this addition graphical evidence, we are able to make the following comparisons and analogies:

• The hn (hen) transparent container of the Dendera Lights is analogous to the transparent glass container of the Cathode Ray tube.  
• Har-Sema-Tawy of the Dendera Lights, made of Gold Metal, the “Ba” of the Lotus flower inside of the hn transparent container is analogous to the metal Cathode electrode of the Cathode Ray tube which extends into the glass container.   Additionally, if Har-Sema-Tawy is a tube/pipe, then it can be used like a Hydraulic pump (the Sema symbol is lungs attached to a windpipe) to remove air to create a vacuum inside the hn (hen) glass container, or to add inert gas inside of the glass container
• The Arms of the Djed Pillar, or the Arms of the Neter Heh of the Dendera Lights, made of Gold Metal, are analogous to the metal Anode electrode of the Cathode Ray tube.  It is important to note that regardless if the device is constructed with the anode inside of the glass container (like the Dendera Light image on the South Crypt Chamber North Wall), or if the device is constructed with the anode outside-of, yet touching the glass container (like the Dendera Light images on the Chapel G North and South Walls, the South Crypt Chamber South Wall, and the interior wall of the Temple of the Birth of Isis Iseum), the stream of electrons can still be observed traveling through the container from the cathode to the anode.  Additionally, since the Djed Pillar (stability) and the Neter Heh (infinity) are dual opposite concepts like ∞ (infinity) and 0 (zero), then it is fair to interpret these symbols as indicators for either creating a vacuum (zero, stability) inside the transparent container or filling (infinity) the transparent container with inert gas.  Creating a vacuum inside of a glass bulb, or filling the glass bulb with inert gas, are also two of the criteria needed for incandescent light bulbs to function.
• The Ka on its knees in the Dendera Lights, which represented the “Divine Spark” is analogous to the Cathode Ray Tube “Power Supply” (source of the spark).  The Ka was connected by the material of the lotus flower to the Djed Pillar/Heh (anode) to Har-Sema-Tawy (cathode). Additionally, Har-Sema-Tawy is called the “Ba” inside the Lotus flower, and it is a fact that in Ancient Egyptian symbolism, when the Ba and the Ka unite, it produces Akh (light).

7. Addressing Misinformation
Before concluding this presentation on the Plausibility of the Dendera Lights as a form of Ancient Egyptian Electrical Lighting Technology, it is necessary to specifically address the misinformation which has been disseminated on this topic to date.  There are three main perspectives which disseminate information on the subject of the Dendera Lights, and unfortunately to date, all of these perspectives have presented misinformation on the subject of the Dendera Lights in order to support their bias.

The perspective which views the Dendera Lights as an “Ancient Egyptian electrical light source”, was championed by people like Peter Krassa and Rainer Habeck in their book entitled “The Light of the Pharaohs.”  What Krassa and Habeck did well which helped their argument was developing a working replica of the Dendera Lights Technology based on their interpretation of it as an electrical light source.  However, Krassa and Habeck made several irrelevant and incorrect points which hurt their argument.  Krassa and Habeck made a point to talk about the “Absence of Soot inside Ancient Egyptian Tombs” and “the Unavailability of Oxygen inside Ancient Egyptians Tombs to Light Torches” to suggest that torches and lamps could not have been used to light the inside of Ancient Egyptian temples and Tombs, so the Ancient Egyptians must have used lightbulbs.  First of all, it is fallacious to conclude that light bulbs must have been used for lighting just because you think torches were not used for lighting.  Additionally, the presence or absence of soot inside of a building, and the use or nonuse of torches inside of a building, are irrelevant to the discussion of whether or not a particular artifact is what you claim it to be.  For example, you can still light torches and have soot inside of your house, and also have knowledge of the use of electrical lighting.  The “soot and torch” discussion are auxiliary points which are only made to allude to the notion that the use of electrical lighting in Ancient times is as ubiquitous and prevalent as it is now in modern times to the point where “the Ancient Egyptians did not even need torches.”  However, it is very simple to show evidence of soot inside of Ancient Egyptian temples, and it is very easy to show Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics and reliefs depicting the Ancient Egyptians carrying torches and fire lamps to prove that the Ancient Egyptians did in fact use torches for lighting.  The real substance of proving that an artifact is what you claim it to be, is showing that what is written about the components, material, function, and use of the artifact is consistent with what is being claimed about the artifact.  Unfortunately this is another area of shortcoming in the discussion presented by Krassa and Habeck who misidentified several of the objects depicted and described in the text accompanying the Dendera Lights reliefs.  Since Krassa and Habeck chose to make these irrelevant auxiliary points and incorrect primary points in their discussion, they left room for their “Dendera Lights Electrical Light Source Hypothesis” to be easily overturned.

The opposing perspective views the Dendera Lights as nothing more than mere fetish statues using for Ancient Egyptian cult ceremonial religious purposes.  This perspective is championed by personalities like Frank Döernenburg in his book “Pyramid Mysteries? Whats That?” and on his website www.Doernenburg.alien.de.  On his website, Frank Döernenburg presents his argument to “debunk” the Dendera Lights as a form of Electrical Lighting Technology, and many other websites which aim to “debunk” the Dendera Lights have copied and repeated the same information from Döernenburg’s website.  Döernenburg is a supporter of the idea that the Mesopotamian Baghdad Battery is a plausible form of Ancient Electrical Technology based on the statement taken from his website in Figure 16a below.

Figure 16a: Above: a Quote from Frank Döernenburg's website www.Doernenburg.alien.de showing his belief that the Baghdad Battery is a form of Ancient Electrical Technology

Döernenburg also believes that the Ancient Egyptians did not "live in an age of research and progress" and he asserts that in Ancient Egypt there is "no evidence of a systematic study of physics or chemistry” based on the statement taken from his website in Figure 16b below.

Figure 16b: Above: a Quote from Frank Döernenburg's website www.Doernenburg.alien.de showing his thoughts about the Ancient Egyptians not having a “systematic study of Physics or Chemistry”.

Despite his bias, what Döernenburg does well which helps his argument is actually presenting an accurate translation of the text associated with 2 of the 7 Dendera Lights reliefs located on the South Crypt Chamber South Wall.  Unfortunately, Döernenburg’s argument fails because he presents an “Argument from fallacy” logical fallacy and also incorrectly misinterprets several of the Ancient Egyptian symbols and misrepresents (or misunderstands) how a Cathode Ray Tube works.  Döernenburg’s “Argument from Fallacy” logical fallacy comes from analyzing the argument of Krassa and Habeck, and inferring that since Krassa and Habeck’s argument contains fallacy, then their conclusion must also be false.  Döernenburg goes on to present misinformation suggesting that Har-Sema-Tawy (Harsomtous) depicted as a Snake emerging from the Lotus flower shown in the Dendera Lights reliefs represents the “Sun”, but as we have already discussed, the Egyptologists who translated the text of the Dendera Lights say that Har-Sema-Tawy depicted as a Hawk represents the sun, and Har-Sema-Tawy depicted as a Snake emerging from the Lotus flower represents something “primordial” which existed before the sun.  Döernenburg presents more misinformation saying that since the transparent container around the snake emerging from the Lotus in the Dendera Lights reliefs “looks like” the Medu Neter Hieroglyphic iterty, aterti, /itr.ty/ , then the two must be the same.  However, as we have already discussed, the text of the Dendera Lights describes the transparent container around the snake emerging from the Lotus as an hn – container.  Additionally, Döernenburg suggests that the “bulb” must have been made from gold, which contradicts the Ancient Egyptian’s depiction of the hn – container as transparent.  Lastly, Döernenburg misrepresents how a Cathode Ray Tube works in his attack on the replica created by Krassa and Habeck.  The Dendera Lights replica developed and described by Krassa and Habeck was a Cathode Ray Tube in which the Anode electrode is inside of the glass container along with the Cathode electrode.  Since only 1 of the 7 Dendera Lights images (South Crypt Chamber North Wall) has the arm of the Djed Pillar or Heh (the anode end of the device) reaching into the glass container, then Döernenburg makes a point to suggest that Krassa and Habeck’s replica was not true to the most frequent depiction of the Dendera Lights images which has the arms of the Djed Pillar or Heh on the outside of the glass container.  However, even if the Anode Electrode of a Cathode Ray Tube is touching the outside of the Glass container, the cathode ray electron beam can still be observed to travel from the Cathode, through the glass tube, and to the Anode.  This can be observed simply by putting a metal paperclip on the outside glass of a Plasma Globe, and watching the discharge travel to the metal paperclip, because Plasma Globe operate on similar principles as Cathode Ray Tubes.

The third perspective which disseminates information on the subject of the Dendera Lights is the perspective which interprets the Dendera Lights as Ancient Electrical Technology, not developed by the Ancient Egyptians, but rather developed and left on the Planet Earth by “Ancient Aliens.”  The idea that the Dendera Lights are Ancient Alien Technology is championed by personalities such as Erich von Däniken in 1989 in his book “The eyes of the Sphinx” and on television shows like “Ancient Aliens” (season 4, episode 13).  Whereas individuals who have the perspective that the “Dendera Lights were Ancient Egyptian Electrical Light bulbs” may have been naïve in their knowledge of the translation of the text accompanying the Dendera Lights, and individuals who set out to “debunk” the Dendera Lights as Electrical Light bulbs may be biased in thinking there is “no evidence of a systematic study of science on the African continent”, the individuals who promote the perspective that the Dendera Lights were “Ancient Alien Technology” also tend to have issues with accepting the presence of science on the African continent, and thus reconcile the discrepancy in their mind by jumping to the fallacious conclusion that the technology must have been left in Africa by “Ancient Aliens”.  The fallacious arguments presented from this third perspective which views the Dendera Lights as Ancient Alien technology are often built on the “Affirming the consequent” logical fallacy as well as the “Argument from ignorance” logical fallacy.

8. Conclusion
In conclusion, the artifacts known as the “Dendera Lights” should be considered historically, as well as in “Present and Future Practical application”.

For historical considerations, it is indeed Probable (most statistically likely), given the numerous statues discovered throughout Ancient Egypt’s long storied history, that the physical objects referred to by the text accompanying the “Dendera Lights” reliefs were also merely statues as well.  However, if the objects were just statues, it is a fact that to the Ancient Egyptians, the statues represented a Primordial (atom/electron) source of Light other than the sun, which existed before the sun.  If Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawings of flying machines, which were merely “representations” of flight to Leonardo, are noteworthy to be mentioned in the History of Aeronautical Engineering, then likewise, the Dendera Lights which “represented” primordial (atom/electron) light, should also be noteworthy to be mentioned in the History of Electrical Engineering because not only did the Dendera Lights “represent” primordial (atomic) light, but working replicas can actually be built (unlike Da Vinci’s flying machine drawings).

Also, for historical considerations, it is Plausible (logically argued) that the physical objects referred to by the text accompanying the “Dendera Lights” reliefs were were electrical lighting technology given:

• The date in which the objects were created (50 BC) fits in with the timeline of development based on when the Egyptians had a philosophy of the atom (2400 BC)
• The text of the Dendera Lights mentions components which provide a spark (KA), that combine with other components (BA), to produce light (Akh)
• The Physical Dendera Light objects contained symbolic components like the primordial serpent form of Har-Sema-Tawy which is analogous to “electricity” (atoms and electrons) in our modern Big Bang Theory cosmology.
• Comparative analysis of the components as described in the text of the Dendera Lights match to Electrical Engineering components which can be used to construct a Cathode Ray Tube Electrical Lighting device

In considering the artifacts known as the Dendera Lights for “Present and Future Practical Application”, it is Undeniable that a Cathode Ray Electrical Light source can be constructed describing the components needed to build the Technology, using the terms as described in the text accompanying the Dendera Lights reliefs:

1. Light Source (Lotus)
2. Glass Container ( hen )
3. Source of Spark (Ka)
4. Metal Electrode (Har-Sema-Tawy the Ba in the Lotus)
5. Pump to remove or add air (Sema symbol)
6. Vacuum ( 0 ) in container (Djed)
7. Fill ( ∞ ) container with inert Gas (Heh)

In this regard, the Dendera Lights serve as a tool that can be operatively used in the Present, and on into the Future, to teach certain principles of Electrical Engineering in African Centered Educational (A.C.E.) settings using African symbology.