what is scarab

A scarab is a beetle-shaped amulet and impression seal that was widely popular throughout ancient Egypt. Scarabs were also used as personal or administrative seals or were incorporated into other kinds of jewelry. The scarab beetle was associated with the divine manifestation of the early morning sun, Khepri, whose name was written with the scarab hieroglyph and who was believed to roll the disk of the morning sun over the eastern horizon at daybreak. Scarabs were also used as amulets in all periods of Egyptian history, as they represented ideas of existence, manifestation, development, growth, and effectiveness. Scarabs are a diverse family of beetles found in every part of the world except in the oceans and on Antarctica, comprising about 10 percent of all known beetles. Scarabs are omnivores and come in a variety of sizes, ranging from 0.08 to 6.7 inches, and weights, up to 3.5 ounces. Scarabs of various materials, glazed steatite being most common, form an important class of Egyptian antiquities.