Scarab (artifact)
They survive in large numbers today, and through their inscriptions and typology, these artifacts prove to be an important source of information for archaeologists and historians of ancient Egypt, representing a significant body of its art.
[2] Likely due to their connections to the Egyptian god Khepri, amulets in the form of scarab beetles became enormously popular in Ancient Egypt by the early Middle Kingdom (approx.
In ancient Egypt, the Scarab Beetle was a highly significant symbolic representation of the divine manifestation of the morning sun.
Scarabs have also been found inside of sunken ships, like one discovered in Uluburun, Turkey, which was inscribed with the name of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti.
This discovery gives ancient historians insight into the nature of Bronze Age trading goods and commercial networks of exchange within the Mediterranean.
Groups of these funerary scarabs, often made from different materials, formed part of the battery of amulets which were believed by ancient Egyptians to protect mummies throughout the Late Period.
Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died and underwent their final judgement, the gods of the underworld would ask many detailed and intricate questions which had to be answered precisely and ritually, according to the Book of the Dead.
These scarabs were intricately crafted, created under royal supervision, and carried lengthy inscriptions describing one of five important events in his reign (all of which mention his queen, Tiye).
This tradition was revived centuries later during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, when the Kushite pharaoh Shabaka (721–707 BC) had large scarabs made to commemorate his victories in imitation of those previously produced for Amenhotep III.
Scarabs have also been found in vast numbers bearing the throne name of the New Kingdom King Thutmose III (1504–1450 BC) Men Kheper Re.
The hieroglyphs making Men Kheper Re seem to have become regarded as a protective charm in themselves and were inscribed on scarabs without any specific reference to Thuthmosis III.
On a lesser scale the same may be true of the throne name of Rameses II (1279–1212 BC) User Maat Re ("the justice of Ra is powerful"), which is commonly found on scarabs which otherwise do not appear to date from his reign.
As the king fulfilled many different roles in ancient Egyptian society, so scarabs naming a pharaoh may have had a direct or indirect connection with a wide range of private and public activities.
During the late Middle Kingdom, changes in the administration led to scarabs being inscribed with the names and titles of non-royal individuals, usually officials.
[19] Although the scarab ceased its utilitarian use as a personal seal soon after the collapse of the Middle Kingdom, it retained its religious and magical importance throughout the dynastic period.
[20] Canaanite scarabs imitate contemporary Egyptian late Middle Kingdom designs, while also introducing new decorative elements and symbols.
[21] Scarabs made by Canaanite artisans show extensive use of linear and cross hatching on the bodies of the various figures, representations of native animals, and the use of the palm branch.
The majority of these scarabs have been unearthed in the western Phoenician (Punic) burial grounds of Carthage, Sardinia, and Ibiza, with numerous others originating in the Eastern Mediterranean.
[25] The city of Tharros on Sardinia was a major center of production and distribution, and scarabs were transported to the Etruscans in the 5th century by Greek and Phoenician merchants.
