Scarabs

Valley of the Kings

Of course, I knew of the significance of scarab beetles in ancient Egyptian culture before visiting the country. I had read that these humble insects symbolised rebirth, protection and the eternal cycle of life. When scarab beetles rolled balls of dung in the morning, it was as if they were rolling out the golden orb itself so they were connected with the sun god Ra.

Visiting tombs and temples in The Nile Valley I was drawn to several images of scarab beetles in the hieroglyphs and stone carvings. It seemed that when you looked they were everywhere - venerated and yet one of the humblest creatures of all.

As a souvenir gift for Phoebe I picked a golden scarab ornament that she could place on her window ledge. Maybe one day - when she is learning about Egypt at school - she will remember to take her special beetle in for other children to see.

And I bought myself a carved stone scarab beetle from Hopi's shop on the waterfront at Luxor. He had several very old ones in a dusty glass cabinet but this was the one I picked after knocking him down from one thousand Egyptian pounds to six hundred. That is about nine British pounds or $12US. There were many cheaper scarabs in the shop but I wanted to rescue this particular one. It was calling to me.

And now he sits on my desk. A lovely reminder of a lovely holiday in an awesome land.

Temple of Khnum,  Elephantine Island, Aswan

Perhaps you were wondering, "Do scarab beetles still exist?" And if so, I am happy to reassure you that they are certainly still with us. In fact there are 35,000 known types of beetle within the scarab family. The particular beetle that the Egyptians revered was the "scarabaeus sacer" or sacred scarab. I hope you are not eating right now...