See the Stunning Golden Jewelry, Amulets and Small Statues Unearthed at an Ancient Egyptian Temple

A team of Egyptian and French archaeologists has uncovered a stash of exquisitely preserved ancient jewelry during excavations at the Karnak Temple complex near Luxor, Egypt.

The artifacts—including golden rings, ornaments, beads and a small statue depicting three ancient Egyptian gods—date back to ancient Egypt’s 26th Dynasty, which lasted from 664 to 525 B.C.E., according to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

“It is a very important discovery because it provides a clearer understanding of the historical development of the Karnak Temple during the first millennium B.C.E.,” Mohamed Ismail Khaled, the secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, tells Ahram Online.

The jewelry stash was found remarkably intact, preserved inside a broken pottery vessel, as Khaled explains in the statement.

One of the most intriguing objects from the haul is the small golden statue of three Egyptian gods—Amun, Khonsu and Mut—that may have been worn as an amulet. These deities were part of a local triad of gods in ancient Thebes (in present-day Luxor) that represented a family group.

“The golden triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu is intricately designed and is right at home in Karnak Temple, as [this] cult temple is dedicated for the [worship] of these three deities,” Shelby Justl, an Egyptologist at the University of Pennsylvania who is not part of the excavation team, tells Live Science’s Owen Jarus.

Amun was the highest god in Thebes, while Mut was his wife or consort and a divine mother. Khonsu, their son, was the god of the moon and is often depicted in his youth. A temple for Khonsu is located in the southwest area of the Karnak complex.

The stash also included eye-shaped amulets known as wedjat. “An amulet in this shape was thought to protect its wearer and to transfer the power of regeneration onto him or her,” says Justl to Live Science.

After restoration and documentation, the entire jewelry collection will enter the Luxor Museum. Still, many unanswered questions remain, including why the jewelry had been buried at this spot in the first place.

The artifacts appear to be “fairly flimsy,” Jack Ogden, a jewelry historian not connected to the research, tells Live Science. He thinks they may have been made for burial purposes rather than everyday use.

However, this particular section of the temple complex is “associated with the living and not a grave,” Justl tells the publication. As such, the archaeologists offer several alternative explanations.

Jérémie Hourdin, leader of the French side of the excavation, suggests that the finds were associated with several large mud-brick structures used as temple storage or workshop facilities, per Arkeonews.

Alternatively, the golden objects may have been offered to the deities as part of a ritual. Meanwhile, a third interpretation hints at a more sinister reason for the find’s unusual provenance.

“One explanation is that it was an ancient tomb robber’s haul concealed for safety but never recovered,” Ogden tells Live Science. “It would be useful for whoever studies it all to try to work out if the breaks and damage were likely caused by less-than-gentle removal from a mummy.”

Eli Wizevich | | READ MORE

Eli Wizevich is a history correspondent for Smithsonian. He studied history at the University of Chicago and previously wrote for the El Paso Times.