Pale green faience, 13.9mm, over ½” length. Modeled in high relief as the scarabus beetle on a radially splayed base on a plain bottom. The underside with a profuse hieroglyphic inscription. Remnants of the pitch from the mummification process. Scarabs are amulets in the form of the scarabus beetle which was thought to regenerate spontaneously from the earth without the necessity of breading. That concept stems from its habit of rolling dung balls in which it lays its eggs and then buries and abandons them. Thus, the scarab symbolized immortality and resurrection and was used extensively in the mummification and burial process. Inscriptions are usually praised of the Gods.
