Identification of a chrysocolla amulet in an early dynastic child mummy

Two pyriform formations were identified within a bundle of linen bandages wrapping a fifteen to eighteen months old Early Dynastic mummy. The upper one was taken out of the bandages and examined to ascertain its nature. This formation showed to be a small bag closed by a knot containing an emeraldgreen mineral. For identification and with the aim of identifying the compound kept inside it, several different green minerals used for adornment in Ancient Egypt (from the Predynastic period up to the Ptolemaic one) were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDX) followed by microanalysis. The pyriform formation’s content is consistent, based on morphological and microanalytical data, with the natural cryptocrystalline hydrated copper silicate identified as a bead of chrysocolla. The use of chrysocolla was less common than that of malachite as chrysocolla ores were rarer. To present days, only one other example of chrysocolla as a funerary equipment from an Ancient Egypt child burial can be traced. Since our archaeological finding indicates the presence of a chrysocolla bead in one other infant burial, it is possible that the use of this particular mineral was limited, in the Early Dynastic Period as a protective amulet for children.