Ptolemaic

First Full-Color Portraits of Egyptian Mummies

First Full-Color Portraits of Egyptian Mummies

Archaeologists have unearthed the first full-color portraits of Egyptian mummies in more than a century. The excavation at Gerzeh archaeological site in Faiyum revealed a huge funerary building, also turned up papyri, pottery, and coffins from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods Egyptian archaeologists completing their 10th season of excavations at Gerzeh, 75 miles southwest of...

Inner Coffin of Meret-it-es

Inner Coffin of Meret-it-es

Except for her missing mummy, almost everything buried with the noblewoman Meret-it-es, this inner coffin, the outer coffin that contained it, the gold that lay over the mummy and 305 statuettes. Although little is known about Meret-it-es, her funerary equipment reveals much about Egyptian religion. Remarkably thick and weighing 400 pounds, this coffin was meant...

Ptolemaic Mummy Mask

Ptolemaic Mummy Mask

In the Ptolemaic period, the mummy was not enclosed by a complete mummy case, but only by individual pieces of covering, including a mummy mask. Before placing the mummy in its coffin, a number of decorations could be applied. The outer mummy bandages could be painted, the mummy could receive a net of beads with...

Sarcophagus of Pa-nehem-isis

Sarcophagus of Pa-nehem-isis

The sarcophagus of the priest Pa-nehem-isis [Pnehmêse] is a remarkable example from the Ptolemaic Period, with its large face and its profusion of inscriptions and images, covering the whole surface. The figures have been carved in the hard stone with great precision. The deceased is wearing the tripartite wig and a broad collar. No other...

Two Fingers Amulet

Two Fingers Amulet

A black glass obsidian amulet in the form of two fingers of the right hand. The finger joints are indicated as well as the cuticles. Traces of yellowish dirt at separation of fingers. A detailed likeness of the index and second fingers of the right hand was one of the many amulets placed on the...

Silver Statuette of a Kneeling Ptolemaic King

Silver Statuette of a Kneeling Ptolemaic King

As the chief intermediary between gods and men, the Egyptian king is often shown kneeling in adoration. This silver statuette was undoubtedly part of a group composition in which the king faced a larger figure of a god. Temple inscriptions suggest that for much of Egypt’s history, silver was valued more highly than gold. However,...

Gold Snake Bracelet

Gold Snake Bracelet

Ancient Egyptian hollow and smooth gold snake bracelet. The scales and details of the snakes’ head were chased after casting. Snake bracelets were very popular in antiquity. This type of bracelet was worn coiled around the wearer’s arm, the continuation of a fashion known earlier in the Greek world in the Classical and Hellenistic periods....

Headless Statue of Queen Arsinoe II

Headless Statue of Queen Arsinoe II

Statue of Queen Arsinoe II identified with Isis, mother goddess and patron of magic. It is considered one of the masterpieces of Ptolemaic sculpture, which combines Greek and Egyptian elements. The statue is in a traditional Egyptian striding pose. She stands facing forward with her arms lowered along the sides of the body and her...

Silver Winged Scarab

Silver Winged Scarab Amulet

This silver winged scarab is inlaid with lapis lazuli, red jasper and green feldspar. It seems to have been fixed to a larger object since there are fasteners on the back side. The winged scarab was a powerful image of solar rebirth for the deceased. Amulets in the form of scarab beetles had become enormously...

The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. It was found in a small village in the Delta called Rosetta (Rashid). It is called the Rosetta Stone because it...