The Dendera light is a motif in the Hathor temple at Dendera in Egypt. According to the hieroglyphic text surrounding the pieces, it depicts statues referencing part of an Egyptian creation myth.
The temple, especially its crypts, contain several reliefs depicting statues of Harsomtus, sometimes syncretized with Ra, in the form of an upright snake, emerging from a lotus flower which is usually attached to a barge. The so-called Dendera light is a variation of this motif, showing Harsomtus in an oval container called ', which might represent the womb of Nut. Sometimes a djed pillar supports the snake or the container, other times a man with raised arms and a sun disk on his head.
The crypt of the temple was considered analogous to the Duat, and reliefs in the crypts depict the cult statues (made of precious materials and thus looted or destroyed in later times) which were housed within, kept underground as the 'bodies' of the gods until they were resurrected through contact with light on the roof of the temple. Specifications of the size and construction of the statues are inscribed alongside captions describing the identity of the statue.
Each of the three objects consists of two reliefs. One half (a) of each pair is in south crypt 1-C (crypte 4), the other half (b) in room G (chambre V) of the temple.
Text above the snake:
Text above the snake:
Text above the figures to the left:
Text above the snake:
Text above the snake:
Text above the snake:
Text above the frog-headed figure:
Text in front of the frog-headed figure:
Text above the statue in the shrine:
Text above the snake:
In contrast to the mainstream interpretation, a fringe theory proposes that the reliefs depict Ancient Egyptian technology, based on comparison to similar modern devices (such as a Cathode-ray tube, Geissler tubes, Crookes tubes, and arc lamps). Norman Lockyer's passing reference to a colleague's humorous suggestion that electric lamps would explain the absence of lampblack deposits in the tombs has sometimes been forwarded as an argument supporting this interpretation (another explanation is the use of a system of mirrors).
Proponents of this interpretation have also used a text stating that "high poles covered with copper plates were erected to break the storms coming from on high" to argue this, but Bolko Stern has written in detail explaining why the copper-covered tops of poles (which were lower than the associated pylons) do not relate to electricity or lightning, pointing out that no evidence of anything used to manipulate electricity had been found in Egypt and that this was a magical and not a technical installation.
Archaeologist and debunker Kenneth Feder argued that if ancient Egyptians really had such advanced technology, some light bulb remains (glass shards, metal sockets, filaments...) should have been discovered during archaeological excavations. By applying Occam's razor, he instead highlighted the feasibility of the aforementioned mirrors system, and that the ancient Egyptians knew that adding salt to torches minimized lampblack.