Helicopter Hieroglyphs

High upon the walls of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos lies a curious carving that has sparked endless wonder. To the casual eye, the shapes appear astonishingly familiar to the modern world; depicting what appears to be a helicopter, a submarine, and even a tank, yet these images were etched more than three thousand years ago. Could the Egyptians have glimpsed the technology of the future? What is the reality of these carvings that have captured the imagination for the past few decades?

What are we seeing?

Egyptologists are unanimous in their view that the so-called “helicopter hieroglyphs” of Abydos are not depictions of futuristic machines, but the result of a palimpsest. This explanation may upset those who prefer the fringe side of historical study, yet this clarification it is not conjured from imagination nor an attempt to “cover up” a theory, but is grounded in a well-attested practice of Ancient Egypt.

Usurping, recycling, reclaiming, and inscribing one’s own name upon monuments to forge new associations was a common practice among pharaohs. Ironically, Ramesses II (whose re-inscriptions are now at the heart of the Abydos “helicopter” mystery) is especially notorious among Egyptologists for this habit, having frequently overwritten or replaced earlier texts to stamp his legacy upon the works of his predecessors.

The carvings at Abydos are a clear example of this. The names of Seti I, Ramesses’ father, and Ramesses II himself, were layered one upon the other, and, over the centuries, the erosion of plaster has blurred them into strange and coincidental forms. To modern eyes, these overlaps evoke shapes familiar from our own world, yet they are not traces of lost technology. Rather, they stand as a vivid reminder of how time, erosion, and human perception can conspire to create illusions, weaving mystery into stone and leaving us with riddles born not of science fiction, but of history itself.

Fringe theorists argue that the carvings are too precise to dismiss as coincidence, pointing especially to the “helicopter” shape with its apparent rotor and tail. Some claim the Egyptians may have preserved knowledge of lost technology or even recorded visions of advanced craft from another civilisation. Others go further, linking the Abydos carvings to out-of-place artefacts and ancient astronaut theories, suggesting Egypt had help from beings with superior knowledge. These ideas have proved popular in books, documentaries, and online discussions, yet despite the intrigue and entertaining value they hold, they remain unsupported by credible evidence and are firmly rejected by academic Egyptology.

1. Seti I’s Original Carving

Seti I’s throne name (Menmaatre, 𓇋𓆣𓏏𓎟) was cut into the temple wall.

• 𓇋 (reed leaf, ỉ) – vertical line.
• 𓆣 (scarab beetle, kheper) – oval body with arched wings.
• 𓏌 (door bolt, s) – straight horizontal bar.
• 𓎟 (basket, neb) – rounded base form.

All arranged in neat titulary cartouches, as standard for royal inscriptions.

2. Ramesses II’s Re-carving

Ramesses II’s prenomen (Usermaatre Setepenre, 𓅆𓆄…) was cut directly over Seti’s.

• 𓅆 (chick, w) – small oval-bodied bird with beak.
• 𓆄 (vulture, mwt) – broad curved form, with outspread wings.
• Additional throne-name components (𓇋, 𓂋, 𓊪, etc.) carved over Seti’s older signs.

Plaster (now lost) was used to smooth out Seti’s original cartouches before re-inscription.

3. Erosion Over Time

As the centuries passed, the plaster decayed. The underlying lines of Seti I’s titulary reappeared beneath Ramesses II’s over-carving, producing blended, hybrid outlines that never existed in antiquity as “whole glyphs.”

4. The Illusion of Modern Machines

• “Helicopter”:
  • Rotor & fuselage → Seti’s 𓇋 reed leaf + 𓆣 scarab wings
  • fused with Ramesses’s 𓅆 chick and 𓆄 vulture, creating the long-bodied “aircraft” shape.
• “Tank / Submarine”:
  • Hull & turret → Seti’s 𓏌 door bolt + 𓎟 basket
  • overlapped by Ramesses’s bird signs, giving the impression of a boxy vehicle.
• “Jet” shapes:
  • Angled wings → eroded overlaps of Ramesses’s 𓆄 vulture wings with Seti’s titulary signs, resembling swept-back aircraft.

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