The Origin of the Cult of Horus in Predynastic Egypt - Page 31

The Origin of the Cult of Horus
in Predynastic Egypt - Page 31

Another confirmation of our analysis is provided by a "Relief Palette Fragment", found today in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, pictured in Grimm and Schoske, Am Beginn der Zeit:[63] [At the Beginning of Time]:



Figure 23: Protodynastic Palette Relief Fragment – SAS, Munich

This palette relief fragment shows the classic symbols of the summer solstice ca. 3000 B.C. The sun is represented as a round circle, flanked by two lions with overlong but not intertwined necks. Grimm and Schoske write: (our translation) "the upper part is formed by a reclining ungulate." This ungulate [hoofed animal], a bull, represents the constellation Ursa Major. In later times, this was portrayed only by a bull shank (lower leg).

That ungulate is shown in reverse on the palette back side. That makes sense, since we are then viewing Ursa Major from the other side. The ribs of the bull correspond to the fence-like enclosures on other artifacts, as found on the serekhs.
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[63] Alfred Grimm and Sylvia Schoske, Am Beginn der Zeit, Ägypten in der Vor- und Frühzeit; Ausstellungskatalog, Heft 9, Schriften aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung (SAS); München, Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, 24.12. 2000 - 22.4.2001, p. 37.