Scarab (artifact)

• 1. Origins And Evolution

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  By the early Middle Kingdom, around 2000 BC, scarab amulets became enormously popular in Ancient Egypt. They replaced cylinder seals and circular button seals that featured simple geometric designs. This shift occurred by the end of the First Intermediate Period, approximately 2055 BC. Scarabs were often engraved with names of pharaohs and other royal figures during this time. In the Middle Kingdom, officials also had their names and titles carved onto these objects for use as official seals. Short prayers or mottos appeared on some New Kingdom scarabs, though translating them remains difficult today. Hunting scenes sometimes depicted on these artifacts offer further insight into daily life and royal activities.

• 2. Materials And Craftsmanship

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  Most standard scarabs measure between 10 mm and 20 mm in length, though sizes range from 6 mm to 40 mm. Artisans typically carved them from steatite, a soft stone that hardens when fired to form enstatite. Others used Egyptian faience, a sintered-quartz ceramic material. Glazes applied before firing usually resulted in blue or green surfaces, but weathering has left many appearing white or brown today. Hardstone versions commonly utilized green jasper, amethyst, and carnelian. The base remained flat to allow inscription of hieroglyphs for impression sealing purposes. Drilling through the object enabled suspension on thread or incorporation into swivel rings. Later examples featured cast scarabs strung on gold wire rather than simple string.

• 3. Religious Symbolism

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  Ancient Egyptians identified the scarab beetle with Scarabaeus sacer, known for rolling dung balls across the ground. This behavior mirrored the god Khepri's belief system regarding the sun's journey across the sky each day at dawn. The beetle thus symbolized rebirth, regeneration, and the eternal cycle of life. Some beetles use their legs to push dung into spheres, which observers linked to the sun moving east to west. This connection made the scarab a divine manifestation of the morning sun. The artifact appeared throughout Egypt across many historical periods, including inside sunken ships like one found in Uluburun, Turkey. That specific find bore Queen Nefertiti's name, providing historians with a framework for dating the shipwreck.

• 4. Funerary Practices

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  Heart scarabs became popular during the early New Kingdom and persisted until the Third Intermediate Period. These large amulets measured 4 cm to 12 cm long and were often crafted from dark green or black stone without suspension holes. Priests placed them around mummy necks using gold wires within gold frames. Hieroglyphs carved on the base repeated spell 30B from the Book of the Dead, commanding the heart not to testify against its owner during judgment. Pectoral scarabs emerged from the Twenty-fifth Dynasty onward as flat objects measuring 3, 8 cm. They featured separately made outstretched wings sewn onto mummy chests through edge holes. Naturalistic scarabs ranged 2 cm to 3 cm and displayed three-dimensional bases with integral suspension loops. Groups of these formed part of protective amulet batteries believed to shield mummies during the Late Period.

• 5. Royal Commemoration

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  Amenhotep III commissioned large commemorative scarabs mostly between 3.5 cm and 10 cm in length. Crafted from steatite, these grayish-green or brown talc pieces carried lengthy inscriptions describing five important events of his reign. More than 200 examples survive today, suggesting distribution as royal gifts supporting diplomatic activities. The tradition continued centuries later when Kushite pharaoh Shabaka (721, 707 BC) produced similar large scarabs commemorating victories. Earlier Eighteenth Dynasty practices included celebrating obelisk erections at major temples under Thuthmosis III. These massive objects were intricately crafted under direct royal supervision. Their discovery locations indicate they served propaganda purposes rather than personal use alone.

• 6. International Trade Networks

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  Canaanite artisans imitated Egyptian late Middle Kingdom designs while introducing new decorative elements like linear cross-hatching. Anra scarabs dating to the Second Intermediate Period have been found overwhelmingly in Palestine, comprising about 80% of known examples. Phoenician seal engravers adopted the form from the sixth century BC through the mid-fourth century BC during the Achaemenid Empire period. Most unearthed in western Punic burial grounds such as Carthage, Sardinia, and Ibiza, these items traveled widely. The city of Tharros on Sardinia became a major production center distributing goods to Etruscans by the fifth century BC via Greek and Phoenician merchants. Etruscan versions gained popularity in Vulci and Tarquinia during the last decades of the sixth century BC.

• 7. Modern Cultural Legacy

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  P. G. Wodehouse featured a rare Cheops Fourth Dynasty scarab pilfering plot device in his 1915 novel Something Fresh. Dorothy L. Sayers used a catapulted scarab as a murder weapon in her novel Murder Must Advertise. Rock band Journey incorporated various scarab types into their logo and album covers spanning Departure through Revelation. Dutch print-maker M. C. Escher created a 1935 wood engraving depicting two dung beetles. Stephen Sommers' 1999 film The Mummy portrayed the scarab as a deadly ancient beetle consuming organs upon contact. Disney's Aladdin revealed the Cave of Wonders location when joining two halves of a scarab beetle. Video games like Star Fox Adventures used scarabs as currency units while Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation featured them dealing damage to Lara Croft.