The inscription, engraved on the stomach of the scarab was translated as “Re is the Lord of Egypt”. Dr. Dobrev discovered that there had really been an ancient pharaoh, called Mentuhotep IV /1992 – 1985 BC/. He was most famous with his huge expeditions to distant territories. Scientists think that precious materials were sought during such expeditions for the construction of the giant pyramids, temples, ships etc. And the ancient Thracian territory was full with thick woods, stone quarries and mines. The Egyptians even named many places on these lands. For instance, the name of the Bulgarian Strandzha Mountain means “the mountain of Ra /the Sun/” in the ancient Egyptian language.
There are two other similar scarabs in the archaeological museum of the sea town of Sozopol. The common thing between those was that they were both found in ancient Thracian mounds. “The Smolyan scarab was discovered back in 1976 in a necropolis, dated to the VII century BC near the village of Liubcha in the Rhodope Mountain” – Mrs. Tanya Mareva, head of the regional history museum in Smolyan says and adds:
“The scarab was found in a so-called cenotaph mound. Those were places with no remains of dead people, but Egyptian everyday objects and cult ones. This kind of mounds was related to their belief in live after death and soul immortality. The artifact is 13 mm long and its widest part is some 7 mm. It was discovered together with other miniatures.”
Scarabs were used in the ancient times for amulets that would protect their owners against evil forces. However, the sacral animal was mostly accepted as a symbol of the resurgent soul. Both Thracians and Egyptians believed in life after death and perhaps that was the reason why the small figure was placed in the mound near the village of Liubcha. What was its track before that remained unclear. However, one thing is sure – ancient people moved a lot. Those 50 amber grains, discovered together with the scarab, prove that. They were brought from the northern parts of Europe – from the Baltic Sea. Series of artifacts, dating back 3-4,000 years ago and some local myths and legends also prove to some degree the presence of ancient Egyptians in Thrace.
English version: Zhivko Stanchev
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