FOREWORD
In our book "New chronology of Egypt" [���], which was issued in 2002, for the first time was fully decoded an astronomical language of the Egyptian zodiacs – ancient Egyptian pictures of the zodiacal part of the star sky. The present book continues the studies, started in the book "New chronology of Egypt". Actually it could be considered as its second volume.
We will shortly remind what the issue is about. See details in [���].
Egyptian zodiacs have been attracting a focused attention of researchers for around 200 years – starting from the time of invasion of Napoleon to Egypt in 1799. Egyptologists and astronomers, having got access to Egypt, immediately showed interest to the ancient astronomical pictures, expressed on the ceilings of the "ancient"-Egyptian churches, and also on the domes of the tsar (and not only tsar) Egyptian tombs. It was clear that such pictures could bring (and most likely they bring) in themselves the astronomically written dates. That's why for the scientists of the XIX it was an attractive possibility to decode the symbols of Egyptian zodiacs and calculate the hidden in them dates. And with this to establish RELIABLE landmarks of the chronology of Ancient Egypt.
Long and unsuccessful attempts to date Egyptian zodiacs started. There were attempts to decode them with different means, each time calculating all the suitable dates. But satisfactory from the astronomical point datings, related to the epoch of "Ancient" Egypt, didn't yet appear. The efforts of the scientists, both astronomers and Egyptologists, continued for more than one hundred years. In the first half of the XX century they finished with a joyless (from the point of traditional look at the history of Egypt) conclusion: it is IMPOSSIBLE to date Egyptian zodiacs at least at approximate closeness to the "traditional" chronology of Ancient Egypt.
At the same time, in the beginning of the XX century a famous Russian scientist-encyclopedist academician Nikolay Alexandrovich Morozov showed that s number of Egyptian zodiacs have rather rational decodings [11]; [���], chapters 1,2. But they lead to much later dates, than those which could be acceptable for Egyptologists. A reaction of Egyptologists on the studies of N.�.Morozov was clear, fast and gloomy: they pretended that they didn't notice his works. But their previous attempts to decode and date Egyptian zodiacs immediately stopped. Among Egyptologists prevailed an opinion (based on nothing), that Egyptian zodiacs don't contain any dates. They are allegedly just "astronomical phantasies" of the ancient. See details in [���], chapters 1,2.
We underline that both Egyptologists and N.�.Morozov only partly decoded the zodiacs. They left "overboard" a big number of unclear to them Egyptian symbols. It was considered that these "odd symbols" had no relation to astronomical contents of the zodiacs. They were explained as "religious parades of the ancient-Egyptian gods" etc.
Our studies showed that astronomical content of Egyptian zodiacs is much richer than all the previous researchers supposed. In 2002 in the book "New chronology of Egypt" we for the first time proposed a full (although ambiguous) decoding of astronomical language of the Egyptian zodiacs. It unexpectedly appeared that on the Egyptian zodiacs the date was often written by means of not only one horoscope (as the previous researchers supposed). The "ancient" Egyptians used SEVERAL HOROSCOPES AT ONCE for signature of ONE date. One horoscope was full – we call it the main horoscope of the zodiac [���]. Others were partly ("special horoscopes"). A Egyptian zodiac could contain up to four special horoscopes, related to the days of equinoxes and solstices of that calendar year, to which the date of the main horoscope was related. That is the date, which was codified on the zodiac. We remind that a horoscope – this is rather quickly changing through time placement of planets on zodiacal constellations.
Opening of special horoscopes on the Egyptian zodiacs let us not only PROPOSE the most probable from the point of researcher decoding of a zodiac (as it was in all the previous works), but TO CALCULATE A DECODING AND PROOVE IT. That means – to work at once with all the possible decodings. Excessive information, contained in special zodiacs, let us automatically throw away wrong decodings and distinguish from them the only one correct. As a result this gives a possibility to calculate finally and uniquely the dates of many Egyptian zodiacs. First of all those, which contain special horoscopes.
It is worth saying that special horoscopes are not always presented on the zodiacs. As a rule they are presented on the big, "parade" Egyptian zodiacs. For example, on the zodiacs from the "ancient"-Egyptian temples. On the others, more decent zodiacs, and also on the European zodiacs special horoscopes are usually missing. Nevertheless, a full decoding of the "reach" zodiacs lets to learn more also about the astronomical symbols of "the poor". It appeared that both of them in general comply with the same rules. On the "poor" zodiacs there is also often additional astronomical information, letting to calculate the date of the zodiac uniquely or nearly uniquely.
In the first edition of the book "New chronology of Egypt" we decoded Egyptian zodiacs only of the "Roman type". Most of the previous attempts of dating and decding were related to such zodiacs. But there are also other zodiacs in Egypt - "of the Thebaic type". The last were considered much more ancient and actually not subject to decoding. In particular, to the "Thebaic" type are related all the zodiacs, found on the domes of the table tombs of pharaohs in the famous Valley of tsars. In 2003 we managed to fully decode a rather outstanding astronomical symbolic of the Egyptian zodiacs of the "Thebaic" type and to date them. As a result appeared a possibility to learn precisely the dates of burial of some famous Egyptian pharaohs - Seti I, Ramses IV, Ramses VI, Ramses VII and others. Unfortunately zodiacs remained not in all the tombs of pharaohs. In some of them they were knocked down. See details of decoding and dating of the Egyptian zodiacs of the "Thebaic" type in the second edition of the book "New chronology of Egypt", issued in 2003 (and its later editions).
In the present book we don't repeat our studies of the astronomical language of Egyptian zodiacs, as this actually would mean inclusion in it of the most part of the book "New chronology of Egypt". For corresponding data please refer to the book [���].
We will list all the ancient zodiacs, studied and dated by us during the time, which passed after the mentioned above opening. A part of the listed below zodiacs was dated by us in [���]. The zodiacs, which came to the field of our vision in 2003-2004, after issue of the second edition [���], were included into this book. In particular, here are included the zodiacs, dated in the other our books on chronology, issued after the second edition of "New chronology of Egypt" [���].
1) ZODIAC SETI I (SP), Egypt: 969 (August 14-16) or 1206 (August 5-7).
2) STELLA OF METTERNICH (MT), Egypt: 1007 (August 14-16).
3) "MITRE" FROM APULUM, Europe: 1007 (August 14-16).
4) "MITRE" FROM HEDDERNNEIM, Europe: 1007 (October 14-15) or 1186 (October 14-15).
5) ZODIAC OF SENENMUT (SN), Egypt: 1007 (August 14-16).
6) SHORT ZODIAC (KZ), Egypt: 1071 (May15-16) or 1189 (May 30-31) or 1308 (May 6-8).
7) ZODIAC OF RAMSES IV (RC), Egypt: 1146 (April 15-16), 1325 (April 16).
8) THE GOLDEN COPENHAGEN HORN, Europe: 1166 (May 17-28).
9) LONG DENDER ZODIAC (DL), Egypt: 1168 (April 22-26).
10) THE THEBAIC COLORED ZODIAC OF RAMSES VII (OU), the Luxor Valley of tsars: 1182 (September 5-8).
11) ROUND DENDER ZODIAC (DR), Egypt: 1185 (morning of March 20).
12) ZODIAC "LION OF COMMAGENE" (LK), Turkey: 1221 (morning of September 14).
13) THE UPPER ATHRIBIAN ZODIAC OF FLINDERS PETRIE (AV), Egypt: 1230 (May 15-16).
14) LOWER ATHRIBIAN ZODIAC OF FLINDERS PETRIE (AN), Egypt: 1268 (February 9-10).
15) ZODIAC FROM THE TOMB OF PETOSIRIS, AN OUTSIDE ROOM (P1), Egypt: 1227 (August 5) or 1667 (August 2 of old style).
16) ZODIAC FROM THE TOMB OF PETOSIRIS, AN INTERIOR ROOM (P2), Egypt: 1240 (March 24-25) or 1714 (April 2 of old style).
17) ZODIAC "DRESSED NUT" (NB), Egypt: 1285 (January 31 – February 1) or 1345 (January 29-31).
18) ZODIAC OF RAMSES VI (RS), Egypt: 1289 (February 4-5) or 1586 (February 20-21 of old style).
19) ZODIAC OF THE BIG TEMPLE OF ESNA (EB), Egypt, Esna: 1394 (March 31 – April 3).
20) ZODIAC OF THE SMALL TEMPLE OF ESNA (EM), Egypt: 1404 (May 6-8).
21) CARPET FROM BAYEUX, Europe: 1495 (March 15).
22) ZODIAC FROM LOUVRE (LV), Europe: 1638 (June 12-17 of old style).
23) GEMMA OF "MARCUS AURELIUS" (RZ), Europe: 1664 (December 8-9 of old style).
24) ZODIAC OF BRUGSCH, the horoscope of demotic postscripts, (BR1), Egypt: 1682 (November 17 of new style) or1861 (November 18 of new style).
25) ZODIAC OF BRUGSCH, the horoscope "without a stick", (BR2), Egypt: 1841 (October 6-7 of old style).
26) ZODIAC OF BRUGSCH, the horoscope "in boats", (BR3), Egypt: 1853 (February 15 of old style).
A.T.FOMENKO, G.V.Nosovskiy,
Moscow, Lomonosov Moscow State University
