A Researcher Found Hidden Messages on an Obelisk. They Weren't Meant for Ordinary Eyes.
A researcher discovered hidden messages called hieroglyphic cryptographies on the Luxor Obelisk in France.
Some of the hidden messages were propaganda asserting Ramses II's power.
Messages on one side of the obelisk would have only been read by wealthy nobles approaching by boat.
Ramses II—also known as Ramses the Great—ruled Egypt for 66 years, and his reign is considered to be the epitome of power and glory in Egypt. Despite his military shortcomings, Ramses II leaned into an exhaustive public relations campaign, erecting more monuments (and siring more children) than any other pharaoh. And he is still influencing history to this day—a researcher just discovered several hidden messages inscribed on one of the obelisks he commissioned.
The monument in question is the Concorde (or Luxor) Obelisk, now located in Place de la Concorde, Paris, France. It originally stood outside the Luxor Temple in Upper Egypt, alongside a twin obelisk, and both pillars were built around the 13th century B.C. Experts can date the engravings back to Ramses II, as they included both names he went by during his reign. Both monuments were later gifted to France by Pasha Muhammed Ali, but because of transportation costs, only one tower was relocated in 1833.
Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier, the epigraphist who discovered the hidden messages, did so by accident—he was merely on his daily stroll.
'I would walk to [the obelisk] and read the hieroglyphs on its faces to relax,' Olette-Pelletier told Sciences et Avenir. 'At one point, I realized something unusual: the direction of the hieroglyphs indicated a direction, that of the entrance to the portico of the Luxor Temple. But that was only the beginning.'
Olette-Pelletier explained that he realized there was no literature discussing the different scenes, so he began studying the images from afar. He eventually realized that the obelisk contained hieroglyphic cryptographies, or hidden messages. These encrypted messages are often secret texts inserted into hieroglyphs or hidden in 3D carvings. While some Egyptians would have been able to read hieroglyphs, only the elite would be able to decipher these hidden messages, Olette-Pelletier explained. Interestingly, the hidden messages on the 'Seine side' (once the Nile side) of the obelisk could only be read at a 45° angle.
'When I calculated where to stand at the time to be able to admire this part of the obelisk, I ended up right in the middle of the Nile,' Olette-Pelletier said. 'And then I understood: it was only intended to be seen by the nobles arriving by boat at the temple of Luxor during the annual Opet festival, celebrating the return of the life forces of the god Amun.'
Olette-Pelletier said the hieroglyphic cryptographies were a 'true propaganda message' to remind other powerful nobles of Ramses II's mighty sovereignty. The researcher also discovered hidden bull horns on Ramses II's headdress in one scene, which he said meant 'ka' or 'vital force of the divinity.' A rectangle meaning 'to appease' was also present. Olette-Pelletier explains that, when put together, the phrase would read 'Appease the ka-force of Amun,' reminding people to make offerings to the gods.
After intense study, the epigraphist identified a total of seven sets of crypto-hieroglyphics on the obelisk. His findings will soon be published in the journal ENIM.
'In our written language, we can now clearly distinguish the text from the image,' Olette-Pelletier said. 'These new discoveries remind us that among the Egyptians, they were one.'
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