Thursday 21 March 2013

Egyptian artifacts.

Gathering more research on Egyptian culture, this time relating to artifacts, Will has alreayd researched Egyptian language (hieroglyphics).

Ankh

Only Kings, Queens, and Gods were allowed to carry this symbol. The ankh is the Egyptian sign of life and indicates that the King or God holding it has the power to give or take life away from lesser mortals. The Ankh, as a symbol of the life giving elements of air and water, was often used by a God or Goddess who holds the ankh before the Kin's nose, giving him the "breath of life" or as streams of water in the form of ankhs running over the King during ritual purification.



















Scarab Beetle

The scarab was associated very early on in Egypt with the generative forces of the rising sun and with the concepts of eternal renewal. The beetle is known for coming out of the sand backwards dragging its ball of dung behind it along the ground before depositing it in underground tunnels as a source of food for its larvae, therefore symbolizing the sun’s daily journey across the heavens from East to West. Because the young beetles seemed to emerge spontaneously from these tunnels, the Egyptians worshipped the scarab under the name Khepri: “He who came forth from the earth” or “He who came into being”. Thus the beetle was equated with the creator Got Atum from early times. Scarabs thus became potent amulets and were often placed upon the breasts of mummies in the position of the heart as a symbol of new life and were then weighed against the feather of truth in the final judgment. They were usually inscribed with part of chapter 30 of the Book of the Dead.















Conopic Jars

Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummification process to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from limestone or were made of pottery. These jars were used by Ancient Egyptians from the time of the Old Kingdom up until the time of the Late Period or the Ptolemaic Period, by which time the viscera were simply wrapped and placed with the body. The viscera were not kept in a single canopic jar: each jar was reserved for specific organs. The name "canopic" reflects the mistaken association by early Egyptologists with the Greek legend of Canopus.
Canopic jars of the Old Kingdom were rarely inscribed, and had a plain lid. In the Middle Kingdom inscriptions became more usual, and the lids were often in the form of human heads. By the Nineteenth dynasty each of the four lids depicted one of the four sons of Horus, as guardians of the organs.


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