Tomb art suggests Egyptian sky goddess wore the Milky Way galaxy
The deities of ancient Egypt oversaw virtually every aspect of existence, with gods and goddesses representing mundane daily activities all the way up to the cosmos itself. But the sky-goddess Nut (pronounced 'Noot') had one of the most important roles. Nut literally stood over her earth god brother, Geb, protecting him from the void's floodwaters. She also was pivotal to the solar cycle, swallowing the sun at dusk only to rebirth it every morning. According to evolving research from the University of Portsmouth in the UK, Nut may also have had yet another important association: with the Milky Way galaxy itself. His latest theories are laid out in a study published on April 30 in the Journal of Astronomical History Heritage.
Astrophysicist Or Graur first became interested in Nut's origins while conducting research for a book on galaxies. In exploring various cultures' Milky Way mythologies, Graur was struck by ancient Egyptian written sources that referenced the galaxy, such as the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of Nut. After comparing their descriptions with simulations of how the Egyptian night sky looked during those eras, Graur published an initial study in 2024 arguing Nut and the Milky Way were intertwined—perhaps even physically. Specifically, he contended the winter sky manifested in the deity's outstretched arms, while her backbone showcased the summer heavens.
Graur spent the next year diving even deeper into the theory, reviewing 125 images of Nut depicted across 555 Egyptian coffins from nearly 5,000 years ago. While often illustrated as a naked woman clad in stars, certain examples stood out for their differences.
'The texts, on their own, suggested one way to think about the link between Nut and the Milky Way,' Graur said. 'Analysing her visual depictions on coffins and tomb murals added a new dimension that, quite literally, painted a different picture.'
For example, a coffin belonging to the Amun-Re chantress Nesitaudjatakhet shows an undulating black curve crossing Nut's body from her fingertips to her feet, with a relatively equal number of stars on either side of the curve. Graur believes that this archway of stars is meant to represent the Milky Way.
'I think that the undulating curve… could be a representation of the Great Rift—the dark band of dust that cuts [through the] Milky Way's bright band of diffused light,' he said.
Graur also pointed to similar curvatures seen in four tombs in the Valley of the Kings, including the one belonging to Ramesses VI. He reigned from the mid-to-late 12th century BCE and his burial chamber ceiling is halved between the Book of the Day and the Book of the Night. Both depictions include back-to-back, arched figures of Nut separated by golden curves spanning from her head all the way down her back. However, this particular curvature variation was otherwise rare in Graur's Nut artwork survey, which he says strengthens the larger theory.
'Although there is a connection between Nut and the Milky Way, the two are not one and the same,' he said. 'Nut is not a representation of the Milky Way. Instead, the Milky Way, along with the Sun and the stars, is one more celestial phenomenon that can decorate Nut's body in her role as the sky.'
The new hypothesis goes beyond providing a more nuanced look at the Egyptian pantheon—it's great material for bedtime tales.
'My interest [in Nut] was piqued after a visit to a museum with my daughters, where they were enchanted by the image of an arched woman and kept asking to hear stories about her,' said Graur.
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