Carved scarabs like this one had a number of different functions in ancient Egypt. This one commemorated Amenhotep III's strength and bravery during a lion hunt. As is typical with carved scarabs, one side (see the photo at the bottom of the page) was carved to resemble a scarab beetle, which symbolized the sun god Re. The other side is flat and is inscribed (carved with writing) with hieroglyphs (one form of ancient Egyptian writing) telling the tale of Amenhotep III's hunt.

View the scarab with the magnifier. What hieroglyphs do you see? Click on the CREATE tab to find a hieroglyph translation key.

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A cartouche is an oval drawn around a group of hieroglyphs to mark a person's name. Can you spot one?

Why do you think there are carved lines (registers) running across this scarab?

Click on the EXPLORE tab to learn more about scarabs.

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