by Amr Abbas
In Ancient Egypt the all-black sacred scarab (Scarabaeus sacer), belonging to the diverse family of Scarabaeidae which are found in almost every part of the world, was—as its name suggests—sacred. The Ancient Egyptians associated this dung-rolling beetle with Khepri, the divine personification of the early morning sun which he rolled over the horizon in the East at daybreak.
The oldest known scarab amulets and seals date to the late old Kingdom which lasted from circa 2575 to 2130 BCE and were later (starting during the New Kingdom, 1938–c. 1630 BCE) used in burial rituals, i.e., by placing a winged scarab on the chest of a mummy symbolizing the deceased person's heart.