Neskhons' Heart Scarab & Ba-Bird

Beautiful detail inside Neskhons' sarcophagus.

Part of a large, ancient Egyptian sarcophagus acquired and sold by the Merrin Gallery, Neskhons' mummy was accompanied by the traditional amulet and falcon pendants. While dwarfed by the size of the sarcophagus and the elaborate decoration, these items hold great significance.

The amulet, called a "heart scarab", is a large, beetle-shaped object, usually of green stone or faience, that was placed over the heart of the deceased.

Its form is significant. Because the larvae of the scarab beetle emerged from a ball of dung in which they incubated, it appeared as magical regeneration to the ancient Egyptians. It also came to represent the reappearance, each dawn, of the Sun and became associated with the god, Khepri.

The two Ba-bird falcons with their wings spread and heart scarab were found on
Nekhons' mummy. The back view of the heart scarab reveals the inscription.

In rituals prescribed in "The Book of the Dead", the scarab was used in the "weighing of the heart ceremony", in which it was set upon a balance scale against a feather of truth, to determine the individual's fate in the afterlife. An inscription beseeches the heart scarab not to bear negative testimony.

The Priests of Ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, priests filled the crucial role of performing all necessary rituals and maintaining the temples, which were believed to be the actual residences of the gods. Unlike in today’s houses of worship, there was limited outreach to the lay public, who were not allowed within.

The priesthood of each temple was comprised of a small, permanent staff of professionals, and a revolving coterie of high-ranking male and female “volunteers” called saw (later, Phylae, in Greek), who each served for a month at a time. As in any bureaucracy, there was a hierarchy to the priesthood: one could advance to the next level only after fulfilling the function of the preceding one.