By far the most important amulet in ancient Egypt was the scarab, symbolically as sacred to the Egyptians as the cross is to Christians. Scarabs were already known in the Old Kingdom, and in the First Intermediate Period the undersides were decorated. They were probably sacred in the Prehistoric Period and had a role in the early worship of animals, judging from the actual beetles that were found stored in jars buried with the deceased and from those found in graves during the time of King Den of Dynasty I. A scaraboid-shaped alabaster box from Tarkhan seems to confirm that the scarab was already venerated at the beginning of Dynasty I. Scarabs are the most numerous amulets and were produced well beyond the dynastic periods.

TYPES OF SCARABS

Among the kinds of scarabs are: ornamental scarabs, heart scarabs, winged scarabs, scarabs with the name of a king or queen, marriage scarabs, lion hunt scarabs, commemorative scarabs, scarabs with good wishes and mottos, scarabs with symbols of unknown meaning, and scarabs decorated with figures and animals.

Most of the scarabs in these categories were probably used as seals, as proven by impressed clay fragments.

ORNAMENTATION

The underside of the abdomen, or flat side, of the scarabs was usually inscribed with the names of pharaohs and officials, private names, magical mottos, formulae, volute designs and other patterns, images of deities, sacred animals, and religious symbols.

Scarabs were used by both the rich and the poor.

For the average Egyptian a simple message was provided on the scarab with no rhetoric:

• A concise simple good wish, such as: "(May) Amun (grant) a good new year"
• A name, such as: "The Lady Y-ab,"
• A motto, such as: "Firm of heart"
• A summary of their personal religious feelings in a magical prayer, such as: "Amun is strength."

The king, noble, or official might even have a lengthy inscription, such as: "Beloved of Re, Prince of Truth, Beloved by Amun, Horemhab."

An uninscribed scarab was probably just as sacred in the belief in its strong influences.

In many instances scarabs are valuable for the historic information they provide, such as in the narrative type, commemorative scarabs. The Lion Hunt and Marriage scarabs of Amenophis III relates events during his reign.

Nor did the power of the amulet go unnoticed outside Egypt's borders. Numerous scarabs have been found in Palestine and other areas of the Near East, Spain, Italy, Sardinia, Greece and elsewhere, verifying the spread of Egyptian religious beliefs way beyond its borders. Most of these scarabs seem to have been accumulated as a result of contact from war and conquest, administration or trade, or through diplomatic relations.

USE

In one form, scarabs were a cheap and common form of "charm" which everyone could afford and easily wear strung on a cord on their person. Most scarabs were made for the living. The small magical object was believed imbued with particualar protective powers that warded off evil and provided good things for the owner for this life and also for the next, particularly when sewn to mummy wrappings. This was especially true when worn as a heart scarab or winged scarab to provide a safe journey into the Afterworld of the gods.

Jewelry in the form of pendants, bracelets, and necklaces prominently featured scarabs of various sizes and were all believed to possess amuletic properties. By the Middle Kingdom, scarabs were being worn on the finger mounted as a ring, or threaded with a cord for the finger. Numerous impressions on clay, bearing the names of royal and non-royal names, animal figures, and decorative motifs found on letters, documents, and containers attest to scarabs having been primarily used as seals.

Although scarabs are known from the earliest periods, it is in the 12th dynasty that their use as seals became common. The great majority of the thousands of scarab seals were quite small, generally measuring around three-quarters of an inch long by half-an-inch wide and about a quarter of an inch high. The name of a particular person, king, or official title was inscribed on their flat bases to ensure protective powers would be given to the owner and to the owner's property. Interestingly, some scarabs with royal names were worn after the king was deceased, in the saintly sense, similar to the holy medals of Christian saints. In all probability, no matter what their category, scarabs represented sacred emblems of Egyptian religious belief.

The lock and key was unknown in Egypt. Instead, clay was shaped and impressed with seals to secure the contents of jars, bags, boxes, letters, and official documents, and to safeguard storage rooms by sealing the doors. They were handy and easily carried on the person. Official seals were so important that at least as early as the Old Kingdom officials instructed students in the art of being "sealers." Official departments had their secular sealers such as "Sealer of the Honey," while religious organizations had their "Divine Sealer." In the Middle Kingdom the royal treasury had its Chancellor and "Keeper of the Royal Seal." The idea of using a stamp seal, or "button seal," was imported to Egypt from Asia, but in taking the form of a beetle it became exclusively Egyptian.

Although the scarab amulet may have been degraded by its utilitarian use as the everyday seal, it still retained its religious and magical importance throughout the dynastic period and later. In the Greco-Roman period scarabs were sanctified by sacred rites performed in the elaborate "ceremony of the beetle," performed only on nine particular days of the month.