Note return — Chapter III · SCARABÆUS SACER

“Yes, Sergeant. Sometimes called a scarabee, or scarabæid, or scarabæus—that is to say, beetle.… This little oval bit of lapis-lazuli was a sacred symbol of the old Egyptians.… This particular one, by the by, is most fascinatin’. It is the state seal of Intef V—a Pharaoh of the Seventeenth Dynasty. About 1650 B.C.—or over 3,500 years ago—he wore it. It bears the title and throne name of Intef-o, or Intef. His Horus name was Nefer-Kheperu, if I remember correctly. He was one of the native Egyptian rulers at Thebes during the reign of the Hyksos in the Delta.[8] The tomb of this gentleman is the one that Doctor Bliss has been excavating for several years.… And you of course note, Sergeant, that the scarab is set in a modern scarf-pin.…”