“The famous Tutankhamun tomb, that of a young boy, contained three golden coffins made of 110 kilograms of pure gold, his gold throne and his mummy, which was also covered with a gold funerary mask,” he explains. Hamdy El Sayed, an Egyptologist and researcher at Cairo Uni- versity explains that ancient Egyptians were buried in gold. They also believed it had spiritual pow- ers.
Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology, explains that ancient Egyptians named gold “the flesh of the gods” because it did not get discolored and was believed to be sacred. Not only is it used in making the most spectacular and precious jewelry, the word gold had strong connotations of sta- tus, politics, religion and spirituality, and played a significant role in the development of ancient Egypt.Īuthors of the book Gold and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubia Rosemarie Klemm and Dietrich Klemm explain that gold was not only worn by men and women as jewelry, but it was also linked to the Sun God Ra, with its yellowish and reddish shades.Īlfred Lucas, one of the early researchers in the study of ancient Egyptian technology, believed the red color found in ancient Egyptian jewelry resulted from the tarnishing of silver-bearing gold. In many ancient cultures gold is a symbol of power and immortal- ity, the ancient Egyptians, and later the Romans were eager gold miners.
