The Jewellery Trail

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Amulet

This amulet was probably worn as a pendant necklace, with a cord or chain passing through the tube at top. Crescent shaped amulets seem to have been popular at the time - many have been recovered from various sites and they were produced in a variety of different styles. The design of many such pendants was heavily influenced by Egyptian and Syrian traditions. This amulet was probably made using the repoussé technique. This involved the goldsmith beating the gold into a specific shape, either by using a mould or by hammering the metal over a specially carved wooden block called a former. Because gold is a soft and malleable (easy to manipulate) metal, it could be shaped and decorated whilst it was cold, using a range of small tools.

Armlet

This plain gold band would have been worn around the arm like a bangle. It has a very simple decoration of small notches at both ends. These were probably made by the goldsmith using an awl or scraper. Pieces of gold jewellery were desirable in Canaanite societies not just because they were decorative. Small pieces like this armlet were relatively easy to make and could be mass-produced. Because they were uniform, easily recognizable and available in limited numbers, they could be used as a currency when buying goods. This made them a valuable trading commodity. They Egyptian army that destroyed Sharuhen would have looted as much of the valuable jewellery as they could, so it’s not surprising that the citizens took such trouble to hide it before they fled the city.

Beads

Beads are one of the most common types of jewellery recovered from archaeological sites in this region. The earliest bronze age deposits in Palestine show that beads were traditionally carved from materials like bone and shell. As the societies developed in the region, the jewellers began to seek out other decorative materials. Various stones were used, and then, as metalwork became an increasingly important craft to the Canaanites, gold and silver. Gold beads were produced in a variety of ways by the smiths. One of the most common methods was to coat an inexpensive bead of wood, dried resin or bitumen in a thin sheet of the metal to make it look like a solid gold bead. These were then used in the manufacture of necklaces and bracelets. The long beads seen here were most probably part of a larger necklace containing semi-precious stones and gemstones.

Earrings

These earrings were a popular style in Bronze Age Palestine. They were made by attaching small, decorated pendants to a simple gold ring that would have been passed through a pieced earlobe. The pendants were decorated with a pattern of crosshatched lines which is still visible in the photograph. Goldsmiths decorated the gold using a relatively simple selection of tools, including awls, punches and chisels. The metal was worked over a wooden block to shape it, using a hammer. Because it is a soft metal, it could be worked whilst it was still cold.

Hair-ring

Canaanite gold came from a variety of different sources in both Turkey and Egypt. However, gold objects travelled around the region as they were traded, and were also often displaced through looting and warfare. This thick gold ring would have been used to hold a braid of hair in place. It is undecorated, but nevertheless would have been a clear sign of the wearer’s wealth and status. The Canaanites took great pride in their appearance, and the rich cultural influences of the nearby empires of Syria and Egypt probably had a big impact on the way that men and women dressed.

Scarab

The scarab amulet was a very popular and important amulet in ancient Egypt. The amulet was based on an image of the dung beetle Scarabeus sacer. The scarab represented self-generation, resurrection and renewal. This was because of the way the beetle looks after its young. The insect rolls a ball of dung and pushes it into a hole. It then lays its eggs into the dung. When the young beetles hatch they appear, as if by magic, from the dung. As a result the scarab beetle was a symbol of rebirth and so it became associated with stories about the rebirth of the sun.

Traditionally, the scarab was believed to roll the sun across the sky each day. The scarab amulet 1st appeared during the Old Kingdom (about 2575-2134 BC). It was often used as a seal, mounted on a ring, with an inscription on the other side. These would have been used by high ranking officials. ‘Heart’ scarabs were also placed near to the heart after the body was mummified. The amulet provided protection and also helped guarantee favourable judgements in the Halls of Osiris on the dead’s journey to the afterlife.

Scarab amulets were made from a wide variety of materials, such as stone, gold, bronze, semi-precious stones and gems.