For Young Archaeologists
Gary A. Byers
As usual, the Hollywood movie The Scorpion King is another example where an ancient historical character is used in a plot that has little to do with real history. “The Rock,” a professional wrestler, plays the role of the Scorpion King. I was surprised to find out that there really was an ancient Egyptian Scorpion King. Egyptologists have pieced together the story of a powerful ancient leader who was identified with the Egyptian desert scorpion.
In order to understand the Scorpion King’s power, we need to know something about Egypt’s geography. Upper Egypt is the mountain area of Egypt, which is in the south. Below Upper Egypt, two major tributaries of the Nile, the Blue Nile and the White Nile converge near Khartoum (Sudan’s capital), and form the Nile proper. This mighty river then flows northward through Sudan into Upper Egypt, and then on into Lower Egypt where it enters into the Mediterranean Sea.
More than 100 years ago, archaeologists excavated an ancient Egyptian temple in the Upper Egyptian city of Hierakonpolis. Here they discovered a stone palette used to grind cosmetics, with carving on both sides. One side had the picture of a man wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, and the other side had a man wearing the crown of Lower Egypt. Scholars decided the picture on each side was the same man, and his name was Narmer. This was the earliest representation of anyone wearing the crowns of both Upper and Lower Egypt. It suggests that this was the first king of a united Egypt.
The Scorpion King macehead. Too large to be used for anything but public ceremonies, it shows the king performing a ceremonial act while wearing the tall white crown of Upper Egypt. Before the king’s face is a scorpion (thus his name) with a seven-petaled flower above it.
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A decorated Egyptian slate palette depicts a king named Narmer (inscribed in hieroglyphics between the horned heads at the top) smiting an enemy with a battle mace. On this side of the palette Narmer wears the domed crown of Upper Egypt. On the palette’s other side Narmer wears the curled crown of Lower Egypt. Wearing the crowns of both Upper and Lower Egypt suggests he was probably the first king in history of a united Egypt. The mace in Narmer’s hand on the palette is similar to a mace head that was discovered near the palette on which is depicted another king and a scorpion. This Scorpion King also wore the crown of Upper Egypt and apparently reigned before Narmer. Narmer is dated to ca. 3100 BC, and the Scorpion King is dated to ca. 3250 BC.
Just 30 ft away from the Narmer Palette a stone mace head was found. While mace heads were used as weapons of war, they were also symbols of kings and wands used by kings in ceremonies. The wooden shaft was long gone, but the mace head was inscribed with a man wearing the crown of Upper Egypt with a scorpion image nearby. Egyptologists identified Narmer (also called Menes in another text) on the palette as the first king of a united Egypt, but they did not realize they also had an object from another earlier king.
In the 1990’s, a large tomb excavated at Abydos in Upper Egypt contained numerous clay vessels. The vessels were probably left in the tomb full of food and drink for the dead. Many of these vessels had ink writing on them with scorpion drawings. They also found 160 ivory and bone tags no bigger than a thumbnail, with a hole at the top of each one. Perhaps this hole was for a string to pass through. Each tag had multiple pictures that looked like the very beginning of hieroglyphics. Scholars dated this writing to about 3250 BC.
In 1995, a stone carving discovered in an Egyptian desert cliff seemed to describe events during the reign of a king identified with a scorpion. The carving on this monument was a very early form of Egyptian hieroglyphics, suggesting this king must have reigned about 3250 BC. The Egyptologist who discovered it believed it is the earliest evidence of recorded Egyptian history. This would make the writing about the Scorpion King the first writing in the world.
A scorpion-inscribed mace head, a large tomb full of scorpion drawings, inscribed tags, and a desert monument about a king associated with a scorpion led Egyptologists to conclude that there may have been an Egyptian Scorpion King. They dated him before Egypt’s earliest-known king, Narmer. While the Scorpion King’s actual throne name is still unknown, he was regularly identified with this arachnid. With a royal crown, his large tomb, and the ancient stone monument to his reign, the Scorpion King must have been a powerful ruler. It also looks like he helped create the first system of writing.
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