Interesting Ancient Egyptian Trivia

The ancient Egyptians never cease to disappoint when it comes to supplying us with interesting trivia. In this article, you will learn facts concerning the ancient civilization, which touches upon King Tut, the Eye of Horus, and the goddess Selket.  

Crowns and Headdresses for Royalty

The crowns and headdresses that ancient Egyptian royalty wore upon their heads were mostly comprised of organic materials. Because of this, none have survived, but archeologists know what they looked like from the numerous imagers and statues left behind in temples and tombs. The most famous of these crowns belonged to King Tut , a golden death mask.

Eye of Horus

Representing the eye of the god Horus, the Udjat eye is often referred to as the ‘evil eye.’ Egyptian myths state that the eye was removed from his head by the storm god Seth. When drawn, it looked like the typical human eye, but was decorated with the markings of a falcon. The Eye of Horus was used by the ancient Egyptians as an amulet to protect against injury.

Step Pyramid

The Step Pyramid is known as the first large stone building that set the precedent for pyramids that followed. The pyramid was associated with Djoser, who is known in ancient Egyptian history as one of the best kings to rule.

Who is Selket?

Ancient Egyptians believed that the goddess Selket guarded the shrine where King Tut’s canopic jars were kept. There were four goddesses that guarded the shrine, including Isis, Nephthys, and Neith. When depicted, the goddesses are shown with outstretched arms, which suggest that they were there to protect the shrine. When Howard Carter (the archeologist credited with discovering King Tut’s tomb) laid his eyes on the wood carvings of the goddesses, he remarked how lifelike the poses seemed. It was Selket that was known for her control of magic, childbirth, and nursing. She was represented by the scorpion.

King Tut’s Bracelets

Under the mummy wrapping, King Tut was wearing bracelets on his arm , a total of 13. He had seven on the right arm and six on the left arm. Most of the bracelets looked the same with some decorated with the scarab. Others seemed more decorative. The Udjat eye was shown on four of the bracelets. The sign was also used to protect against sickness, as well as linked to restoring the dead to life.

You Can’t Take it With You”¦

When Howard Carter uncovered the tomb of King Tut, he counted more than 2,000 objects. It took the archeologist about eight years to remove, catalog, and restore all of the items back to the tomb. However, Carter did not see all that the tomb was originally filled with. It is believed that about 10 years after the tomb was initially sealed, grave robbers entered the final resting place of the pharaoh. Carter believes that gold and semiprecious stones were removed after he found mountings and parts of missing objects.