Is this an Ancient Egyptian star observation tool?

MerkabaMeditation

Harte
Egyptology didn't just find them, not know what they are, and then "decide" to call it a wand.

Reclassification of archaeological objects happens all the time and is not unusual with science.

It does happen, but typically with objects that are not accompanied by written directions in their use, you must admit.

MerkabaMeditationAlso, as I mentioned in my original post - it might be a wand and have some other function, so I'm not excluding it being a wand.

As they are found in burial chambers, it must be something useful in the afterlife. You know, where the dead have to face a trial. Against evil spirits.

Harte

reply to post by MerkabaMeditation


Magical Wands, Middle Kingdom

Sources:
Decoding Egyptian Heiroglyphs, Bridget McDermott, Chronicle Books, 2001
EGYPT: People, Gods, Pharoahs, by Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen, Taschen GmbH, 2003 The Global Egyptian Museum website explains, the entities depicted "would magically turn their aggressive instincts against those who would do evil to the mother and child. Both sides of this piece of ivory are decorated in a similar fashion..." Among the various entities are "a serpent, a crocodile, a brazier, the god Aha-the fighter-, a hippopotamus, a Seth animal, another hippo, a knife, the frog-goddess Heqet and a winged griffin."

Amuletic wand , incised hippopotamus ivory, 27 cm long
Egypt, Middle Kingdom
Ancient break, repaired(in Antiquity)- binding-holes
Acquisition date 1927, Purchased from Mohammed Mohassib AN96324001, Registration number: 1927,0709.14, BM/Big number: 58794

MerkabaMeditation
Reclassification of archaeological objects happens all the time and is not unusual with science. Also, as I mentioned in my original post - it might be a wand and have some other function, so I'm not excluding it being a wand.

edit on 12-1-2014 by MerkabaMeditation because: (no reason given)

why does it need another function? it's just like the other wands.
the holes have no function, the priests drilled holes in it to bind the wand together after it broke.

they only reclassify stuff when they find evidence of the function of the object. they have 36 wands and as harte said they found this like all the other wands, were found buried with spell books and other magic fetishes.

i mean if it must have another function, it might be a boomerang, maybe that is how it broke in the first place.

Looks like a big spoon to stir rice or beer.

There's a name for the tendency to attach religious significance to ancient objects you don't know what are for.

i think this might be a sort of "communications device", akin to the ones that the people of the outback use in australia. maybe it has multiple holes, because of trial and error. getting the hole in the exact spot so that when attached to a length of rawhide or something, and spinning it over your head, it creates a sound that you can produce messages that will travel over a long way in the terrain of the desert. could be aslo be the equivalent of a sextant, not necessarily used for stars but maybe the Sun and Moon. the different holes might have something to do with the seaons or the phase of the Moon.

reply to post by tencap77


It does look like a boomerang of sorts that could make such a sound - +1 star for a good idea! I wonder if anyone has tried to throw one of these and see if it comes back?