Star charts reveal how ancient Egyptians planned to navigate the sky after death

Like others in the ancient world in the Americas, Asia, Europe and around the Mediterranean, Egyptian pharaohs and nobles associated stars with their gods or thought they could be deified by becoming immortal stars in the night sky. They tried to ensure their ascension and navigation of the night skies by having elaborate star charts and calendars painted in their tombs. They also had eyes painted on their coffins so they could see what was going on in the world.

Sarah Symons, a researcher from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, says she believes the stars painted on the outsides of coffins were like a map for the dead to navigate the night skies. Scholars previously thought they were like clocks for keeping time, which would have been important for certain rituals, says Scientific American in an article about Symons’ research.

The article states: