Sacred scarab. Scarab beetle - a talisman from Egypt

On the plains African continent, where many herbivores live, including many large mammals, there will always be food for beetles. The same elephant eats about two hundred and fifty kilograms of food a day, and after a while returns it back in the form of huge dung heaps. We can say that Africa (and other places on our planet) has not yet become bogged down in a huge layer of dung only thanks to the huge number of dung beetles, among which the sacred Egyptian scarab beetle occupies a special place.

The scarab beetle belongs to the class of insects, the order of Coleoptera of the lamellar family, one of the characteristics of which is special shape the structure of the antennae, which is characterized by a plate-shaped pin that can open in the form of a fan.

Currently, scientists have discovered more than a hundred representatives of this genus living in arid areas with sandy soils: deserts, semi-deserts, dry steppes, savannas. Most are found only in tropical Africa: About twenty species live in the Palearctic (the region that covers Europe, Asia north of the Himalayas, and North Africa to the southern border of the Sahara), while they are completely absent in the Western Hemisphere and Australia.

Description

The length of scarab beetles ranges from 9.5 to 41 mm. Most of them are black; very rarely there is an insect with a silver-metallic tone. As the beetle matures, it acquires a shiny sheen. A male can be distinguished from a female thanks to his hind legs, with inside covered with reddish-golden fringe.

The body shape of scarabs is wide, oval, large, slightly convex, covered with an exoskeleton (a durable chitinous covering that acts as an external skeleton). The beetle's head is transverse in shape and has a clypeus with six teeth.

The insect's pronotum is simple, strongly transverse, granular in structure, finely serrated at the base and sides. Elytra with six grooves, twice as long as pronotum, base without border, characteristic granular structure. At the base, the posterior section of the abdomen has a border.

On the abdomen and legs (it has three pairs of legs in total) there are long dark hairs. The front legs are digging, have four external teeth, the part at the base on the outside is finely serrated. The middle and hind tibiae are thin, long, slightly curved, while the tarsi become denser closer to the body.

Way of life and nutrition

In mid-latitudes, the scarab beetle appears in mid-spring and is active during the day as long as it is cold at night. In summer, when it is much warmer at night, it switches to night image life. The insect was nicknamed the sandy soil sanator (one might even say, a kind of waste disposal specialist) for good reason: almost its entire life is centered around the main source of food - manure.

About four thousand scarabs usually flock to one fresh, medium-sized pile of manure and in an hour they completely pull it away (if they hesitate, the manure will dry out and the ball will not form).

They do it quite in an interesting way: using the teeth on the head, and the front paws instead of a shovel and a chisel. Balls are made from dung, the size of which often exceeds the disposal beetle.

When forming a ball, they take a round piece of manure as a basis, after which, clasping it with their middle and hind legs, they do not release it until the end of the work. After this, having settled on top, the beetle begins to turn in different directions, separating with the edge of its head the particles of manure surrounding it, while its front paws pick them up, bring them to the ball and press it into it, now from below, now from above, now from the sides, until it reaches the required size.

An insect can roll a formed ball in search of a shaded corner of the earth for several tens of meters, and the further it moves away from the heap, the faster it rolls its prey. If the beetle is distracted for some reason, the ball it has made is quite capable of being taken away and appropriated by its relatives, so fierce battles often arise for the right to own the finished prey. During this time, smaller species of dung beetles can settle in the balls, and if there are too many of them there, the ball will be useless for the owner.

Having found a suitable place, the beetle, having made a hole, rolls it down, buries it, settles next to it, and until it eats it (usually it takes about two weeks), it does not leave the place, after which it again goes in search of new food.

Reproduction

While the insect is young, it makes a ball only for its food. But quite soon (they live about three months) a beetle of the opposite sex is connected to it, as a result of which a pair is formed: the insects begin to work together and prepare food not so much for themselves as for their offspring.

To do this, they dig holes, the depth of which ranges from 10 to 30 cm (they create as many nests as the female is going to lay eggs). Upon completion of the work, the male leaves the hole, and the female begins to sculpt oval-shaped dung figures (ovoids). In the narrower part, she makes a depression in which she places an oval-shaped egg (10 x 5 mm), after which the entrance to the hole is filled up.

The egg stage of a waste beetle lasts from 5 to 12 days, after which it turns into a larva, which constantly feeds on the food prepared by the parents, while it does not touch the walls of the ovoid.

After a month, the larva turns into a pupa, the stage of which lasts about two weeks. The young insects that emerge from the pupae do not leave their nests for some time, and if the species lives in temperate latitudes, they remain there until spring.

Relationships with people

How useful these insects are was realized back in Ancient Egypt, when they saw that black beetles destroy manure and rotten food, clearing the earth of decay products (an important job in a sultry, hot and dry climate).

Therefore, for more than one millennium, they revered and worshiped the golden scarab as an insect that belonged to the Sun God himself. It was a symbol of rebirth in the afterlife: for the inhabitants of ancient Egypt, rolling the ball symbolized the movement of the luminary across the sky, and the teeth located on the head reminded them Sun rays. It is not surprising that the golden scarab was often found in ancient Egyptian temples.

In addition to the fact that it was considered the animal of the main deity, there was also a cult of the scarab god Kheper, who was the god of health and longevity, in Ancient Egypt. Therefore, stone and metal figurines of Kheper were found in many tombs, as well as many medallions depicting a golden scarab.

These beetles are still used successfully today. So, some time ago after the insects of Australia and South America for some reason, they could no longer cope with the huge amount of manure produced by livestock, it was decided to use scarabs for this, as a result of which the beetles were brought to these continents. Despite the fact that the insects did not take root here, they completed their task.

The African continent has a rich animal world, a special place in it is occupied by animals, which are still considered sacred. The scarab beetle is held in special esteem by the Egyptians and other African peoples; in some villages it is still worshiped, just as it was thousands of years ago.

Photo and description of the scarab beetle

It is difficult to find an adult who has not heard about scarabs; for most, they are associated with Egypt, the pyramids, and the pharaohs. But you can also find it on other continents of the globe. Once you know what a known insect looks like, it will be easier to identify it.

A photo of a scarab beetle will tell you a lot about the insect, characteristic features appearances are:

• Black color throughout the body; adults have a shiny sheen. It is extremely rare to find a representative with a metallic gray color. The green scarab beetle is fictitious; this color is not typical for an insect.
• The shape of the body is oval-elongated, with a durable chitinous coating.
• The head is small relative to the body; it has a clypeus with teeth to facilitate food extraction.

On a note!

The distinctive features of the male and female are the red fringe on the hind pair of legs; nature has endowed this decoration with the stronger half. Unites this type insects have vegetation on their abdomen and legs. Long hairs are considered business card as are the four teeth on the front pair of legs, which are used for digging and forming food into balls for easier transport.

The sizes of individuals may vary. The beetle in Egypt reaches 41 mm in length. There are also smaller individuals - only 9.5 mm in more northern regions.

Where does it live?

Most of us are sure that the insect’s habitat is quite limited. But this opinion is wrong; the dung-ball-rolling insect is found not only in Africa. The peddler beetle, or beetle, is common north of the Himalayas in Europe and Asia. In the Eastern Hemisphere, it failed to take root only in Australia. The Western Hemisphere did not become a home for him at all.

Due to the large accumulation of manure, insects are periodically imported to other continents; they cope with the problem, but they fail to take root either in Australia or on the American continent.

What does it eat?

The Egyptians believed that there were scarabs that eat people; they crawl under the skin through the ears and nose and eat a person from the inside.

Interesting!

Science has proven that the carnivorous species of beetles does not exist; the studied species are absolutely safe for people and animals.

Their diet consists of manure, which is what earned them universal love back in ancient times. capable of processing within a short time a large number of manure that remains when keeping domestic animals. Scarabs can also be considered orderlies in wildlife. It would take four thousand scarabs just an hour to clear an average pile of dung.

In the middle zone, beetles begin their active life as soon as the air warms up. They purify themselves only during the day until mid-summer, and then switch to a nocturnal lifestyle. For normal existence for 10-14 days, the scarab needs one ball of dung, five times the size of the insect itself. The beetle rolls it into a pre-dug hole near its home and digs it in. This is how a young beetle acts, more mature age The male and female store larger amounts of manure for future use. It is with the help of waste of this type that procreation in these insects is possible.

In order to prepare food for itself, the scarab rolls a ball of dung, and it does it quite funny:

• the basis is most often a small round piece of feces;
• with the edge of its head, the insect seems to cut off small pieces of manure;
• presses the torn piece into the ball with its front and hind paws;
• the middle pair of paws holds the lump tightly, not letting go until the formation process is completed.

The beetle rolls the finished ball into a safe shelter in a shaded place. On the way, he is very careful, because smaller beetles in larger numbers can take away the prey without any problems. And relatives of the same build will not disdain ready-made food.

Interesting!

Manure not only helps scarabs live, the appearance of offspring also depends on it. The female and male stock up on a sufficient amount of manure, lay it out in their burrows, and then the female lays eggs in specially fashioned capsules. Until the pupal state, they feed on the dung that their parents stored for them.

Correct name

In Europe, the scarab beetle has many interpretations of the name; the dung beetle is called differently. The most common is the beetle, but this is an incorrect spelling. All explanatory dictionaries They say that it is correct to write and pronounce scarab.

Residents of the middle zone in tales call the insect a peddler, which is also incorrect.

Information about insects

The beetle became famous Egyptian pyramids, where a large number of his images were found in the form of drawings on walls and papyrus.

The ancient Egyptians revered the beetle as a god; it was often depicted with a human body and the head of an insect; there are images of the beetle on a circle. Because of the plate with teeth on its head, the scarab was considered a deity close to the sun; it was called Kheper.

Until a certain time, it was believed that insects were cannibals. It was with them that they frightened archaeologists and grave robbers, claiming that the Egyptian scarab beetle under the skin would quickly deal with a person if he ended up in the burial of the pharaoh or took some thing from the grave.

Interesting!

Scarabs were indeed found in the tombs of the pharaohs of Egypt; according to legend, they were placed in the grave to protect rulers in the other world from negativity.

Nowadays, faith in the magical power of the scarab has not disappeared; you can often find such an image as a talisman among many influential people. At one time it was fashionable and prestigious to wear a tie pin with a scarab, and the inlay was carried out precious stones Green colour. Accessories and Jewelry they also do it with such symbolism that it should bring health and longevity to the owner.

The scarab beetle is quite common around the globe. There is no need to be afraid of him, he is not at all dangerous to people, the ancient Egyptians came to this conclusion. It was not for nothing that he was revered as a deity, ranking him with the gods Ra, Osiris, Thoth and Horus. Rather, on the contrary, if this insect did not help in removing manure from forests and fields, then Earth I would have been stuck in this waste a long time ago.

For the ancient Egyptians, sacred space was not limited only to the temple grounds and sacred groves. Every little thing is for him Everyday life, all surrounding nature could teach a lot of valuable lessons and appear in an aura of sacredness. Thanks to this worldview, a symbol appeared that, along with the pyramids and the ankh, we associate with Egypt - the scarab. Egyptian mysticism endowed him with divinity and holiness, and myths made him popular and recognizable.

Origins of scarab symbolism

To understand why the scarab is a sacred symbol, you first need to say a few words about its nature. So, the scarab is a metallic color that feeds on dung. But he does it so unusually that he is really able to make an impression. The fact is that the beetle first collects dung and rolls it into a geometrically ideal sphere. This ball rolls into the hole, where the scarab spends the next few days.

The photo just shows the process of transporting such a sphere. This ball often weighs more than the beetle itself. When the supply is eaten, the sacred scarab comes to the surface for a new portion of supplies. And that is not all. The same balls are used for reproduction: the sacred scarab beetle transforms a ball hidden in a hole into the likeness of a pear, in the narrow part of which it lays larvae. The latter, developing, feed internal part ball, but do not eat through its walls. When the time comes, and this happens in the spring, a new beetle emerges from the ball.

Plus, on top of everything else, the sacred scarab always rolls the sphere only from east to west and nothing else. And this insect always flies at the height of the day.

Scarab and its connection with the sun

Of course, the Egyptians, who paid so much attention to solar deities, could not help but see a certain similarity in all this. Just as the sun travels its daily path from east to west, and then disappears into darkness and reappears in the east, so the scarab rolls a sphere underground and then returns back for a new ball.

In addition, the sun, according to the Egyptians, is a sacred deity, bringing life to everything, and after death, resurrection. Likewise, the development cycle of a new insect inside the dung sphere and its birth were correlated with the death and resurrection of the sun.

This is where the connection between the scarab and one of the ancient deities of the Egyptian pantheon - Khepri - comes from. This god himself personifies the morning rising Sun. In theological understanding, he is one of three hypostases along with Ra, the god of the daylight, and Atum, who was in charge of solar affairs from sunset to dawn.

In hieroglyphic writing, Khepri was depicted as a man with the head of a scarab. His connection with this insect is deep and is even reflected in the name itself, which literally means “Emerging from Self.” This is a clear allusion to the scarab hatching from a dung sphere in the spring.

Solar Theology and the Scarab

Khepri in Egyptian mythology was assigned a certain role in the creation of the world. The myth said that the entire visible universe came into being when the ascendant Khepri uttered his name. God shares this role of the creator of the Universe with all the solar deities of the Egyptian pantheon.

Legends about Khepri often correlate him with Atum. It was believed that Atum, the god of the night sun, personifying secret divine knowledge, manifests his power through the morning rising sun - Khepri. Atum-Khepri is sometimes also identified with Amon - the hidden spirit of the sun, giving birth to Ra - visible sun and daylight.

The scarab took on all this mythological load and symbolism. Egypt and its mysteries endowed the latter with the properties of a deity associated with it. Thus, it was believed that Osiris was reborn in the form of a scarab and in this form came out of the nostrils of his own head, which was buried in Abydos.

There were also sacred poetic texts that called the scarab a god who dwells in the heart and guards the inner light. Hence, this symbol acted as a connecting link between the human individual soul and God, proclaiming their unity.

The role of the sacred scarab in the life of the ancient Egyptians

Holy Scarab, this important religious symbol, accompanied the Egyptians throughout their lives. They were buried with the same talisman. The Egyptian religion proclaimed the immortality of the soul, which after the death of the body passed into another world, where it continued its journey. During a person’s lifetime, an amulet in the form of a beetle was intended to bring good luck, prosperity, long life, protect the home, protect from troubles and demons, bring a rich harvest, and also help gain the favor of God and his protection.

Scarab and burial traditions

After death, the beetle figurine, as a symbol of resurrection in another world and the transformation of the soul, accompanied the soul and imparted to it a divine impulse to a new life. When an Egyptian of aristocratic origin died, whose body was supposed to be mummified, instead of a heart, an image of a scarab was placed in the mummy. The latter was called upon to resurrect the deceased beyond the threshold of death. The Egyptians believed that the center and focus of human consciousness, and therefore the habitat of the highest part of the soul, is located in the region of the heart. Therefore, the scarab located there represented the seed of new life, the germ of rebirth. This custom was not static and, as is typical for traditions, it changed in different eras. However, its semantic load did not change over time. For example, sometimes instead of the beetle figurine itself, a ceramic heart was made, and the scarab symbol with the names of the deities was depicted on its surface.

The role of the scarab in the afterlife of the soul

There is another role played by the scarab placed in the mummy’s heart. The photo above depicts the scene of the posthumous judgment of the human soul, as it was imagined. Their myths describe this process through the image of the heart of the deceased being weighed on scales. To inherit the best part in another world, the heart of the deceased should not be heavier than the feather of the goddess Maat - the goddess of wisdom and justice. Such a heart can only be possessed by a pure, immaculate person, whose conscience is not burdened by the atrocities and crimes of earthly life. Otherwise, the soul was sent to receive retribution. The scarab, thus, called on God as a witness of the soul and a fair judge of conscience and the human heart. It was probably also considered a symbol of hope in divine mercy and hope for mercy towards the deceased.

Scarab as a symbol of education

Among other things, the sacred scarab is also a symbol of learning and the student. The beetle, transforming a viscous mass of dung into a perfect ball, which subsequently gives life to both himself and his offspring, transforms the student, cultivating a good character and creating a perfect person, whose virtue, knowledge and wisdom will further arrange his life and ensure the life of his descendants .

Conclusion

The scarab was deeply rooted in the cultural space of Ancient Egypt and became an important and ubiquitous symbol. Images of scarabs are found throughout Egypt in a wide variety of designs. It was made from stones, clay, metal, ceramics, but products carved from solar stone - heliotrope - were especially valued. Special magical power and strength were attributed to such amulets.

The finished figures were covered with glaze and painted with paints. The scarab served as a cult object and a decorative element on utensils and jewelry. Hieroglyphs, names of gods and sacred symbols were drawn and engraved on scarabs. Its significance was so great that to this day, thousands of years after the extinction of ancient Egyptian culture, the scarab remains a recognizable and popular symbol of Egypt.

Scarab in ancient Egyptian - "khepri" . The name Khepri was borne by the ancient Egyptian god of the rising sun, the creator of the world and man, who was depicted in the form of a scarab or as a man with the head of a scarab. Why did the scarab beetle become a symbol and personification of the Egyptian solar deity?

Who is he - the sacred scarab?

Scarab beetles (lat. Scarabaeus sacer) are often found on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, in Southern and Eastern Europe, on the Arabian Peninsula, in Crimea, Turkey and, of course, in Egypt.

The scarab is a matte black insect with a round, smooth body 25–35 cm long. Old scarabs become shiny black. On the head of the beetle there is a frontal protrusion and eyes, divided into upper and lower parts. Each leg of the scarab has spurs with which it digs into the ground. Their gender differences are weakly expressed. The lower part of the body is covered with dark brown hairs. Scarabs live for about two years; they spend almost their entire lives underground, emerging to the surface at night. Scarabs overwinter, burrowing into the ground to a depth of 2 meters. The flight of beetles from the ground to the surface begins in March and lasts until mid-July.

The main feature of beetles is their feeding method. Scarabs are dung beetles and feed on the dung of cattle - cows, horses, sheep.

The ancient Egyptians noticed the unusual behavior of scarabs: as soon as a herd of horses or a herd of cows passed along the road, leaving behind heaps of manure, a whole swarm of black scarab beetles immediately flew there. Each of them begins to diligently make balls of dung, rolling them along the road, gradually turning them into an almost ideal sphere, often exceeding the size and weight of the scarab itself, and bury the dung ball in the ground, then use it as food and as a nutrient medium for offspring.

Pairs of scarabs are formed during the process of preparing dung balls. The “Sisyphean labor” of the male scarab attracts the female and they jointly look for a suitable place, dig a hole in the ground 15–30 cm deep. After mating, the male leaves, and the female begins to roll pear-shaped balls, lays eggs in this nutrient medium, and fills the hole with earth , pouring a “pyramid” on top.

After 1–2 weeks, the beetle larvae hatch. For a month, the offspring of the scarab eat the food that their parents have prepared for them, and then the larvae are reborn into pupae . In unfavorable weather, the pupae remain in the burrow for the winter. In spring, young beetles leave their burrows and come to the surface. The scarab appears underground to live on the ground and in the air - after all, these beetles fly perfectly!

This unique scarab beetle is widespread in Western Europe, North Africa And Central Asia, became ancient magical symbol, in religion is not only for the Egyptians. The scarab was “deified” by many African tribes and the ancient peoples of the Caucasus. However, it was in Ancient Egypt that the cult of the scarab acquired a truly epic scale.

Where do the ancient Egyptian myths about scarabs come from?

The scarab beetle in ancient Egypt became sacred symbol, approximately to the 3rd millennium BC.

A researcher of ancient petroglyphs in the Maharashtra region of India, scientist Bibhu Dev Misra, discovered a unique Scarab petroglyph created around 7000 BC. Mister Misra states that the ancient petroglyph predates the early dates of ancient Egyptian civilization by approximately for four thousand years.

goddess Hat-hor = “House-Mountain” - great mother -3400-2920. BC.

The sign of the Scarab represents Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major, which is a classic winter constellation for the northern hemisphere. The goddess contacted Sirius Hat-hor (“house of Horus”, i.e. “sky”) , depicted as a cow with Sirius between its horns.

Bibhu Dev Misra writes in his article that the petroglyphs he found indicate a more ancient system of astrological ideas about the celestial sphere and attributes the emergence constellation symbols to the period around 10,000 BC. Perhaps our astrological knowledge is the legacy of a lost civilization that flourished during the Ice Age.

Mister Misra suggests that ancient petroglyphs may reflect “esoteric knowledge about the ancient civilizations of the “Golden Age” humanity, who perished during the cataclysms of the Younger Dryas era (10,900 BC - 9700 BC), when our planet was struck by numerous fragments of a giant comet.

Ancient petroglyphs recently discovered in Maharashtra likely indicate the existence of some extremely ancient forgotten culture, predating by thousands of years any traditional civilization known in history. whose symbolism is reflected in the sacred myths and scriptures of later cultures and civilizations throughout the world.

“Scarab” is a symbol of the movement of the sun, its creative and life-giving power.

While observing the scarabs, the Egyptians noticed interesting feature –the beetles always roll their balls from east to west, and fly only at noon. The attentive Egyptians saw in this connection between beetles and the sun. The sun travels its way from east to west and disappears behind the horizon, only to appear in the east again tomorrow.

According to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the sun was a deity who brought life to all living things and resurrection after death. The Egyptians correlated the development cycle of the scarab inside a ball of dung and its release to the surface of the earth in the spring with the movement of the sun.

The similarity struck the ancient Egyptians so much that they began to personify the rising sun with the god Khepri (Khepera, Khaper) , depicting him with a scarab instead of a head.

Personifying rising morning sun with the god Khepri (hpr - “emerged”, from hpr - “to arise, happen”), the Egyptians worshiped the god Ra (ancient Egyptian: ri-a; Copt.: Re (reɪ) or Rē) - the day sun and the god Atum ( Egyptian - tm) - to the evening, setting sun.

Khepri partially took over the functions of the god of the solar disk Aten. Khepri was identified with Atum, Pa(Ra-Khepri) , Amon(Amun-Khepri).

Atum-Khepri in the Pyramid Texts is named the creator of Osiris (Egyptian jst jrt, Usir) - the god of rebirth, king of the underworld and judge of the souls of the departed.

It was believed that Khepri arose from itself (“ he appeared in his name"), Sometimes his father is called the “father of the gods” Nun (Ancient Egyptian “nwn” - “water”, “aquatic”). In ancient Egyptian mythology, the father of the gods Nun existed at the beginning of time, as the primordial ocean from which Ra emerged and began the creation of the world Atum.

The meaning of the sacred symbol of the scarab has probably not changed for thousands of years, because archaeologists have found scarabs, rings and amulets in various cultural layers of excavations. The scarab was often combined with other sacred images. For example, in the Cairo Museum you can see many ankhs, which, among other symbols, depict sacred scarabs.

The scarab became in Egypt a symbol of the hard-working student on his path to wisdom. Just as the scarab persistently and persistently transforms the shapeless, viscous mass of dung into a ball in order to plant the seeds of life in it, so the disciple walking along the Path of Wisdom must transform the shapeless mass of his shortcomings into the ideal, perfect form of a ball, like the sun's disk disappearing beyond the horizon of the earth and newly born in the east.

Even from the deepest underground darkness, where the scarab leaves a clutch, its offspring are born again, awakening and resurrecting, like divine power and wisdom, giving the newly born Soul the opportunity to fly into new life on the ground.

Next to the scarab are depicted two serpents of wisdom, right and left, the student takes from each of them and forms his own wisdom.

The most valuable, ancient and revered scarab figure can be found in the Karnak Temple, which is located near Luxor. In Luxor there is a statue of a sacred scarab; this place is especially revered by local residents.

Scarabs appeared in the painting of funerary sarcophagi around 1000 BC. Scarabs are often depicted rolling fire ball the sun, a symbol of the cyclical nature of the universe and eternal life. Dried scarab beetles were often placed in faience pylons, which apparently served as original funeral decorations , which were considered amulets that guarantee resurrection from the dead.

The role of the scarab in the life of Ancient Egypt.

The Egyptians had poetic religious texts that called scarab by God, who lives in the heart and protects the inner light of man. Sacral the scarab symbol gradually became a link between the divine principle and the human soul.

There are many spells associated with the scarab beetle, preserved in the Sarcophagus Texts and the Pyramid Texts. It is known that the Egyptians performed a lot magical rituals associated with the scarab.

The symbol of the sacred scarab accompanied the ancient Egyptians all their lives and passed with them into the afterlife. If the body after death mummified, like a scarab pupa, then instead of a heart they put in an image of a sacred beetle. Without it, the resurrection of the soul in the afterlife could not occur. The ancient Egyptians understood the importance of the heart in the human body and, by placing an image of a sacred beetle in its place, they believed that it represented the primary impulse for the rebirth of the soul. Somewhat later, instead of a figurine of a scarab beetle, the Egyptians made a heart from ceramics, and the names of the gods were depicted next to the symbol of the sacred beetle.

This scarab was found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (1340-1331 BC), discovered by Howard Carter in November 1922. Pharaoh Tutankhamun died at the age of 19, his mummy in a golden sarcophagus and mask was placed in 2 wooden coffins. Another 3 sarcophagi of Tutankhamun were made of quartzite, covered with red granite. Around the sarcophagus there were four golden wooden chapels that occupied the entire room.

This amulet, decorated with the symbol of the sun god - an oval stone yellow color, interested scientists from the Milan Museum of Natural History. Researchers saw in this stone the key to solving one of the mysteries of the Sahara Desert.

The yellow stone used by Howard the discoverer of Tutankhamun's tomb Carter considered it semi-precious chalcedony, in fact, it turned out to be natural glass with extraordinary properties - it begins to melt at 1700 degrees Celsius, which is 500 degrees higher than the melting point of other samples of natural glass. It turns out that whole placers of such glass were found in the Egyptian Sahara, from small pieces to blocks weighing 26 kilograms.

If this special glass is heated red hot and thrown into cold water, it won't crack. That is, in terms of its characteristics, this natural silicate glass is superior to many modern high-tech glasses.

This unusual natural glass was encountered back in the 30s of the last century by expeditions traveling around the Sahara in search of treasures of ancient civilizations and lost cities. According to experts, only More than 1,400 tons of this pure yellow-green glass are scattered in the Saad plateau area. Some of the natural glass samples found have swirling black patterns. The high content of iridium in glass indicates their extraterrestrial origin. Iridium found in some meteorites and comets. Scientists have hypothesized that in ancient times, an explosion exploded over the Sahara. big meteorite, similar to Tunguska. At the same time, from high temperature The silicate-rich sands of the Sahara melted and turned into glass.

This space meteorite glass has been used by people for a long time. Explorers of the Sahara Desert often find knives, hatchets, and arrowheads made from this material almost 100 thousand years ago.

Before the discovery of the scarab in the tomb, no one suspected that the ancient Egyptians knew about the extraordinary glass of the great sand sea, many kilometers from the nearest habitation. The scarab remains the only silicate glass jewel discovered among the treasures of Ancient Egypt.

What do amulets with a scarab mean in our time?

At all times, people believed in the miraculous power of various amulets that brought good luck, wealth, and happiness. Egyptian talismans among them are considered the most powerful, but safe for humans.

The scarab beetle talisman is one of the most revered. The scarab is considered a symbol of life, keeping its owner youthful and beautiful.

Initially, amulets were made from stones, both precious and ornamental. Green granite, marble, basalt or ceramics were used, which, after drying, were covered with green or blue azure. Nowadays tourists are offered metal amulets decorated with stones.

The sacred scarab (lat. Scarabaeus sacer) is a beetle of the Lamellar beetle family (lat. Scarabaeidae), common in North and East Africa, as well as in southern Europe and South-West Asia.

Because of their habit of rolling dung into balls and rolling them towards their homes, scarabs have been associated since time immemorial with the forces that move the Sun across the sky.

In Ancient Egypt, they became sacred insects, which were considered the incarnation of the god Khepri, responsible for the movement of the Sun. Khepri was depicted as a beetle or a man with the head of a beetle and represented new life and resurrection from the dead.

The Egyptians produced huge quantities of amulets depicting scarabs. They were made from clay, faience, stone, ivory and metal. The image of the scarab was on the seals used to seal documents and seal doors.

It was customary to give way to him, and the deliberate murder of a sacred insect was considered as an encroachment on the foundations of the universe and could cost the villain his life.

Behavior

The sacred scarab lives mainly in hot semi-deserts with dry sandy soils, avoiding saline areas. Adult beetles emerge en masse in early spring, emerging from the ground.

They fly well, so they gather in friendly flocks and roam noisily around the surrounding area following migrating herds of ungulates. They pick up the smell of manure from a distance of several kilometers and unmistakably flock to the feast.

Each beetle tries to quickly grab a larger tasty morsel and hide it in a shelter away from its eternally hungry relatives. To deliver a treat to a secluded place, it uses its long hind legs to form an impressive ball of dung and begins to quickly push it.

Scarabs are unusually strong and easily roll balls several dozen times their own weight. Typically, a dung ball has a diameter of up to 8 cm.

A tunnel dug underground serves as a reliable refuge for a tireless worker. The length of the tunnel can reach one meter. Having reached home, the beetle buries itself in the ground along with its prey and feeds on it for several days.

Some individuals specialize only in the feces of a certain type of animal, and categorically disdain the products of others. Elephant dung is considered a special delicacy among them.

Curious biologists, after painstaking practical research, discovered that in one standard elephant heap weighing about 100 kg, on average, almost 16,000 scarabs enjoy life. Each of them can bury a portion of manure into the ground overnight, the weight of which is 250 times greater than its own weight.

Reproduction

The first romantic date of beetles in love takes place, naturally, on a dung heap. The gallant gentleman presents the chosen one of his heart with a large, especially carefully rolled dung ball. If the beauty’s heart trembles at the sight of such a yummy, then she joins the male, and together they begin to roll the ball towards the male’s shelter.

From time to time, she, overwhelmed with surging feelings, climbs onto the ball, giving her admirer the honorable right to work for two. Having reached the dwelling, the young wife, as the hostess, is the first to enter the tunnel previously dug by her husband and begins to dig side chambers in it.

At this time, the happy male tirelessly rolls home more and more portions of crap. The female transforms the delivered balls into peculiar “pears”. She lays one egg at a time in the narrow part of the “pear” and carefully places them in the nests. Each nest can contain up to 5 eggs.

The female carefully seals the openings of the tubules in which the eggs are located with her feces. Her restless husband, using the motto: “If you’ve done the job, go for a walk!”, goes in search of his next passion.

A caring mother stands alone for 2 months near the clutch, removing larval feces and cleaning the burrow from mold.

During this time, the larvae undergo three stages of development. When food supplies run out, they wisely pupate.

The following spring or after heavy autumn rains, adult beetles emerge from the pupae. The first thing they do is eat the remains of their “pears” and, having had a good meal, crawl to the surface and begin an independent life.

Description

The body length of an adult sacred scarab reaches 2.6-3.7 cm. The body is protected by a thick shell with longitudinal grooves.

The color is dark, with a greenish or black metallic tint. The head is flat and resembles a shovel. Powerful mandibles have turned into tiny shovels, allowing them to dig deep tunnels underground.

Short antennas are branched into several plates. The wide tibiae of the first pair of front legs are equipped with large teeth and are used for digging the ground. The strong and long third pair of limbs is adapted to hold and roll a dung ball.

Long transparent wings are hidden under the shell of the elytra. The elytra are rigid and cover the second pair of wings.