Heart scarab



Accession Number
EA7900
Current Location
House of Death (ground floor), Mummification case
Object Type
Scarab, seal, scaraboid, intaglio and similar objects, Scarab, Heart scarab
Period
New Kingdom
Material
Stone/minerals (Schist)
Provenance
Egypt
Measurements
Length: 58mm
Number of Elements
1
Animal
Scarab

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Description

A green schist heart-scarab with ten rows of hieroglyphic text on base, which form Chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead (Quirke 2013, 99–100). It dates to the New Kingdom, and is on loan from the British Museum who acquired it in 1834 from Joseph Sams.

Bibliography

Andrews, Carol 1994. Amulets of ancient Egypt. London: The British Museum Press. Goodridge, Wendy R. & Stuart J. Williams 2005. Offerings from The British Museum. Swansea: The Egypt Centre. [p. 8] Quirke, Stephen 2013. Going out in daylight - prt m hrw: the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead; translation, sources, meaning. GHP Egyptology 20. London: Golden House.

Inscription

(1) ḏ<d>.f i͗b.i͗ n mwt.<i͗> sp-sn ḥꜣty.i͗ (2) <n> ḫprw.i͗ m ꜥḥꜥ r.i͗ m mtrw (3) m sḫsf r.i͗ m ḏꜣḏꜣt (4) m i͗r rḳ.k r.i͗ m-bꜣḥ i͗ry (5) mḫꜣt n<t>k kꜣ.i͗ i͗my ẖt.i͗ ẖnmw (6) swḏꜣ ꜥwt.i͗ pr.k r bw-nfr ḥn n.n i͗m m s{r}<ḫ>ḫnš (7) rn.i͗ n šnyt i͗ryw rmṯ m (8) ꜥḥꜥw nfr n.n nfr n sḏmy ꜣw-i͗b n wḏꜥ-mdwt m (9) <ḏd> grg r.i͗ r-gs nṯr <ꜥꜣ> mk (10) mk ṯnw.k wn.ti͗ (1) He says: My heart of my mother, my heart of my mother, my fore-heart (2) <of> my forms, do not stand against me as witness, (3) do not oppose me in the tribunal, (4) do not lean against me in the presence of the balance-keeper. (5) You are my ka-spirit that is in my body, Khnum (6) who makes my limbs whole, you go out to the good place appointed to us there, do not (7) make my name stink for the entourage, those that make people in (8) (tribunal-)sessions. May it be good for us, as it is good for the hearer, and joyful for the decision-maker. Do not (9) <say> falsehood against me beside the great god. See, (10) the decision on you (too) is in play here.

Language
Egyptian
Script
Hieroglyphic
Last modified: 04 Feb 2023

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