io Minnesota Academy of Science 



necessary to have one or more placed in their tombs after 

 death. Some of them are made of valuable gems and others 

 of quite fine stones, as: agate, chalcedony, cachalong, lapis 

 lazuli, obsidian, garnet, beryl, jade, quartz, zircon, topaz, 

 .spinel, chrysoberyl, turquoise, opal, nephrite, malachite, onyx, 

 amethyst, jasper, and besides many are made of different 

 kinds of potteryware and glaze. 



The scarab had frequently the name of the owner as a 

 seal, and sometimes the date, the latter given through the 

 name of the ruler of the times which was the method in 

 ancient Egypt and China of giving the dates. I have one 

 quite large scarab seal made of turquoise and a seal made of 

 pottery in imitation of turquoise that were found in an old 

 Egyptian tomb with the body of one of Pharaoh's generals 

 who died during his reign. The scarab, which is also a 

 seal on the bottom, has the image of Pharaoh in the center 

 and on each side is the signature or hieroglyphic name of this 

 Pharoah or Amen Hotep II., or Menophtes, of the date of 

 about 1725 B. C. The inscription on this is traceable histor- 

 ically to this ruler and the ancient history of the tombs 

 records this as being the scarab of that date and of that ruler, 

 the seal being the personal seal of one of the important per- 

 sonages of that era, and not only attributed to but assigned 

 to one of Pharaoh's generals. 



These scarabs were used not only as sacred charms but 

 were used for seals with the inscriptions cut on the under 

 side. Many of the very important ones were made of their 

 finest pottery or glaze, which glaze was more in the nature 

 of a very hard permanent enamel. There have been but few 

 if any ancient Egyptian tombs opened that did not have 

 considerable numbers of these imitation sacred bugs. An 

 Egyptian who would know that he was to be buried without 

 the scarab would be filled with terror. 



In these tombs are also found inlaid glass made into bot- 

 tles or amphorae of fine forms and colors. Just how they 

 succeeded in producing this inlaid work with its many 

 straight or zigzag glass bands of variegated colors found 

 only in this ancient form, is not known to the modern glass- 

 maker. This glass seems to be only about the specific 

 gravity and hardness of modern glass. (Pieces were shown). 



Following next appropriately would come the glass of 

 the Syrian tombs. There were more tombs discovered in 

 Syria than in perhaps all the rest of the world. One ex- 



