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About This Work
This artifact is a heart scarab, a funerary amulet carved from dark green serpentinite and reinforced with gold straps. It is housed in a gold setting connected to a woven gold wire chain, designed to be placed over the heart of the deceased to protect them during the judgment of the soul.
The heart scarab was a central ritual object in Egyptian funerary practice, specifically intended to prevent the deceased's heart from testifying against them during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony as described in the Book of the Dead (Spells 30A and 30B).
Connected Texts
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
The heart scarab serves as a physical realization of the magical protective spells intended to preserve the heart during judgment.