A carved beetle from ancient Egypt, where the scarab was a sign of rebirth. Some, called heart scarabs, were inscribed with a spell from the Book of the Dead. Ours is a drawing, not a dug-up antique.
Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.
In ancient Egypt the scarab beetle was a sign of rebirth, as the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum explains in its work on Egyptian amulets. Scarab amulets were made of steatite and of glazed faience. Our files give no date for the first ones.
To verify: The Johns Hopkins page itself; our research lists it but has not yet checked it; A date for the earliest scarab amulets; A source for the materials, steatite and faience
One kind, the heart scarab, carried a spell from the Book of the Dead, inscribed on the beetle itself. Heart scarabs are among the ancient Egyptian amulets that the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum describes in its amulets project.
To verify: Which spell heart scarabs carry, and how they were used
Any antique scarab needs a clear record of where it came from, its provenance. We don’t sell antiques, so we never handle excavated or looted pieces. Ours is a drawn scarab, made new, with its story on a card.
