Amulets in the Wrappings: The Hidden Protection of Egyptian Mummies

When archaeologists unwrap an Egyptian mummy, they rarely find only linen and resins. Among the layers of fabric there appear figures of gods, eyes, pillars, knots, tiny reproductions of objects and parts of the body. These amulets were an integral part of the preparation of the deceased, and their position, material and number followed customs that changed over the centuries, until they became fairly regular in the Late Period.

An invisible set of grave goods

Unlike the jewellery and furnishings placed in burial chambers, amulets among the wrappings were not meant to be seen. They were set in place during the bandaging, accompanied, according to the sources, by the recitation of formulas, and remained hidden for ever. Their audience was the afterlife: they were to act on the body and protect it on the journey to the kingdom of Osiris. This is why many examples are modestly made, while others, intended for kings and high officials, are masterpieces of goldsmithing.

The best-known case is Tutankhamun. Howard Carter discovered the tomb in November 1922 and in the following years, examining the mummy, found among the wrappings more than a hundred objects, including amulets, collars, pectorals, rings and daggers, carefully arranged from head to foot. The photographs and drawings of the excavation still allow the arrangement of many of them to be reconstructed.

Petrie's categories

The first major attempt at classification was made by the British archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie, who in 1914 published a catalogue entitled Amulets. Petrie divided amulets into groups according to their presumed function: those conveying qualities by resemblance, those linked to the possession of goods, those of power, those of protection and those representing deities. His classification is now considered outdated in many respects, but it remains an important milestone in the history of research.

Positions and functions

In the Late Period, between the seventh and fourth centuries BC, arrangements became more regular. The heart scarab lies on the chest, the djed and the tyet at the neck, the wedjat near the embalming incision. A curious amulet in the form of two fingers side by side, the index and middle finger, was often placed in the abdominal area, perhaps to evoke the fingers of the embalmer or of a deity protecting the wound. Figures of Isis, Nephthys, Anubis, Thoth and the four sons of Horus also appear.

There is no lack of amulets shaped like tools, such as the headrest, which in tradition ensured that the deceased's head would be raised, or the set square and plumb line, symbols of balance and rectitude. Each object had a precise task, and together they formed a kind of invisible armour. Some amulets also reproduced crowns, sceptres and sacred animals, such as the falcon, the frog or the serpent.

From excavations to museums

Many amulets were removed from mummies during the excavations and sales of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, often without their position being recorded, and ended up in collections as isolated objects. Today computed tomography makes it possible to study them without unwrapping the bandages, recovering precious information about their original placement and the materials used.

Taken together, these objects show how the Egyptians conceived of protection: not a single all-powerful talisman, but a network of presences, each with a defined function, literally woven into the body of the deceased. A coherent system, in which shape, material and position carried equal weight. This is why the study of amulets cannot ignore the context in which they were found.