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to the births or historical events, which were to be fixed 
astronomically.* From such passages I concluded that all 
the Egyptian monuments containing certain rows of deities, 
expressed certain planetary configurations mentioned by the 
ancient authors, and are the key to all the astronomical monu- 
ments of antiquity, and, of course, also the Leeds mummy 
coffin in question. 
In the first place, every one perceives that the cofim, on. 
the left hand of the mummy, exhibits two different classes of 
deities, one of which, drawn exactly alike, bears each a 
bushel-measure upon its head. As the bushel, in Coptic 
bath, expresses syllabically the word abet (house) ; it is 
evident that these deities must signify, as is the case with similar 
monuments, the houses, or signs of the zodiac, namely, those 
which were not occupied by a planet. Consequently the 
other divinities, occurring in this series, were planets. The 
same composition of planetary and zodiacal deities is to be 
found on the other side of the cofiin. 
Moreover, it is known, that the president of the sign 
Aquarius, the house of Saturn, was called Neith kor (Venus 
Urania) ; that of Taurus, the house of Mars, Neith mashi 
f^Neith genitrix) ; that of Gemini, the house of Yenus, Selk 
kel-hoite (selk textrix vestium) ; that of Cancer, the house of 
Mercury, Nephthis or Nepti ; that of Aries, the house of 
Jupiter, T of next. Consequently, the houses Nos. 6,9, 10, 11, 
which enclose the just mentioned deities, refer to the signs 
Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer ; and thus the succession 
of all the signs, represented on both sides of the cofiin, is 
determined, namely, the signs, adjacent to the head, were on 
both sides, Libra ; and those near the feet of the mummy 
represented Cancer. This arrangement of the signs is con- 
firmed by the deities, placed in the squares above the head, 
and under the feet. For, as all sarcophagi, and mummy- 
* Firmicus Mat em. Astrononiicon libriocto. 
