Glossary of Ancient Egypt artifacts
Encyclopedia
Glossary of ancient Egypt artifacts and materials
- AmuletAmuletAn amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
—Predynastic, and onward. - Canopic jarCanopic jarCanopic 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...
—Vessel containing internal body organs removed during ummy|mummifiicationl) - Canopic chestCanopic chestCanopic chests are cases used by Ancient Egyptians to contain the internal organs removed during the process of mummification. Although the first proven canopic burials date from the 4th Dynasty reign of Sneferu, there is evidence to suggest that there were canopic installations at Saqqara dating...
—The common chest contained the four Canopic jars. - pink elephantsPink ElephantsPink Elephants is Mick Harvey's second collection of Serge Gainsbourg covers.-Track listing:#"Pink Elephants" – 2:90#"Requiem. . . " – 2:35#"The Javanaise " – 2:30#"Black Seaweed " – 2:21...
is a very common ancient artifact - Crook—Symbol of pharaonic power. Symbol of the god OsirisOsirisOsiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
- FaienceFaienceFaience or faïence is the conventional name in English for fine tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff earthenware body, originally associated with Faenza in northern Italy. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip...
—Glasswork articles, amulets, etc. - Flail—Symbol of pharaonic power. Symbol of the god OsirisOsirisOsiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
- Funerary coneFunerary coneFunerary cones are an Ancient Egyptian artifact, almost exclusively in the Theban necropolis, placed over the entrance of the chapel of a tomb. Early examples have been found from the Eleventh Dynasty, but are generally undecorated...
; (Mesopotamia had clay nailClay nailUsed by Sumerians and other Mesopotamian cultures beginning in the third millennium BC, clay nails, also referred to as dedication or foundation nails, were inscribed with cuneiform and embedded into walls to serve as evidence that the temple or building was the divine property of the god to whom...
s) - Headrest—Found in tombs, etc. Typically personal, or a memorial headrest.
- KohlKohl (cosmetics)Kohl is an ancient eye cosmetic. It was made by grinding galena and other ingredients. It is widely used in South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of West Africa to darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes...
—Eyeshadow-(cosmetic) - MenatMenatMenat was a name used for the goddess Hathor. With a slightly different hieroglyphic spelling, it referred to an ancient Egyptian artifact which, like the sistrum, was closely connected with the goddess Hathor. It was held in the hand by its counterpoise and used as a rattle by Hathor's priestesses...
—menat and counterpoise; required a counterweight on back. (Often shown-(menat and counterpoise) just being held in the hand of the woman, Goddess, etc.) - MicrolithMicrolithA microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. It is produced from either a small blade or a larger blade-like piece of flint by abrupt or truncated retouching, which leaves a very typical piece of waste,...
—Ancient Egyptian stone flakes. - MummyMummyA mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
—body after mummificationMummyA mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
. - NaosNaos (shrine)A naos was the sanctuary, the innermost chamber, of a Greek temple, in Latin referred to as cella.The Apostle Paul in the New Testament uses this word in 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 6:16 to denote that the bodies of the Christians are the Most Holy Places of the Living God as He indwells...
—religious shrine; portable shrine for carrying a god. - OstraconOstraconAn ostracon is a piece of pottery , usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In archaeology, ostraca may contain scratched-in words or other forms of writing which may give clues as to the time when the piece was in use...
—Pottery sherd, limestone SherdSherdIn archaeology, a sherd is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels as well....
, used as writing material. - Cosmetic paletteCosmetic paletteThe cosmetic palettes of middle to late predynastic Egypt are archaeological artifacts, originally used to grind and apply ingredients for facial or body cosmetics. The decorative palettes of the late 4th millennium BCE appear to have lost this function and became commemorative, ornamental, and...
—Slab of stone, sometimes decorated, used for preparing cosmetics. See: Narmer PaletteNarmer PaletteThe Narmer Palette, also known as the Great ierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found. It is thought by some to depict the unification of...
; and: :Category:Archaeological palette. - PapyrusPapyrusPapyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
—Material made from papyrus reeds, used as writing and painting material. - Pectoral (Ancient Egypt)Pectoral (Ancient Egypt)The Pectorals of ancient Egypt were a form of jewellery, often represented as a brooch. This was mostly worn by richer people.One type, was the pectoral with a necklace, as a form of attachment, to be suspended from the neck, but to lay upon the breast...
—many forms. (Up to 13 additional Gardiner-unlisted determinativeDeterminativeA determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and...
hieroglyphs for the "pectoral"; See Gardiner's sign listGardiner's Sign ListGardiner's Sign List is a list of common Egyptian hieroglyphs compiled by Sir Alan Gardiner. It is considered a standard reference in the study of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs....
.) - Saqqara BirdSaqqara BirdThe Saqqara Bird is a bird-shaped artifact made of sycamore wood, discovered during the 1898 excavation of the Pa-di-Imen tomb in Saqqara, Egypt. It has been dated to approximately 200 BCE, and is now housed in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo. The Saqqara Bird has a wingspan of and...
—Wooden bird model. - Scarab: amulet or sealScaraboid sealThe Scaraboid seal is a category of the impression seals of Egypt. It is also a category of Jewellery and amulets, though as a seal it is of minor size ....
in the form of an abstract dung beetleDung beetleDung beetles are beetles that feed partly or exclusively on feces. All of these species belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea; most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae. This beetle can also be referred to as the scarab beetle. As most species of... - ShabtiUshabtiThe ushabti was a funerary figurine used in Ancient Egypt. Ushabtis were placed in tombs among the grave goods and were intended to act as substitutes for the deceased, should he/she be called upon to do manual labor in the afterlife...
—Figurines placed in the tomb as substitutes for the tomb owner in the next world - SistrumSistrumA sistrum is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient Iraq and Egypt. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and between 76 and 30 cm in width...
—Musical instrument, a metal rattle. - SphinxSphinxA sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
- Statuary—Pharaonic and non-pharaonic. (Range of sizes.)
- Amulets—numerous, (and predynastic).
- SteleSteleA stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
- Boundary Stele—Placed at boundaries.
- Memorial Stele—Pharaonic or non-pharaonic.
- Monumental Stele—Offered to gods, special individuals, etc.
- Votive Stele—private, dedication.
- Victory Stele—Pharaonic.
- TalatatTalatatTalatat are stone blocks of standardized size used during the reign of Akhenaton in the building of the Aton temples at Karnak and Akhetaten. The standardized size and their small weight made construction more efficient Their use may have begun in the second year of Akhenton's reign...
—limestone wall blocks, at times painted. - UshabtiUshabtiThe ushabti was a funerary figurine used in Ancient Egypt. Ushabtis were placed in tombs among the grave goods and were intended to act as substitutes for the deceased, should he/she be called upon to do manual labor in the afterlife...
— shabtis from the 21st DynastyTwenty-first dynasty of EgyptThe Twenty-First, Twenty-Second, Twenty-Third, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Third Intermediate Period.-Rulers:...
and later.