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Chapter Sixteen - The Administrative Use of Scarabs during the Middle Kingdom

from Part III - Egypt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2018

By
Daphna Ben-Tor
Edited by
Marta Ameri ,
Sarah Kielt Costello ,
Gregg Jamison  and
Sarah Jarmer Scott
Marta Ameri
Affiliation:
Colby College, Maine
Sarah Kielt Costello
Affiliation:
University of Houston-Clear Lake
Gregg Jamison
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Waukesha
Sarah Jarmer Scott
Affiliation:
Wagner College, New York
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Summary

The primary function of scarabs during all periods of their use in Egypt was amuletic, yet at times scarabs were also used as the most prevalent type of seal for the central administration. This is especially true for the late Middle Kingdom (ca. 1850–1700 BCE), the period that saw the beginning of mass production of scarabs. Thousands of seal impressions made by scarabs were found in administrative units of this period, reflecting the large-scale use of scarabs as seals for the central administration. This chapter will present the evidence for the widespread use of scarabs in the Middle Kingdom administration, with a focus on the late Middle Kingdom. It will discuss the most common designs found on seal impression, as well as the current views concerning the use of royal-name, private-name, and design scarabs for this purpose.

Type
Chapter
Information
Seals and Sealing in the Ancient World
Case Studies from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, and South Asia
 , pp. 289 - 301
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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