When it comes to Egypt, people's first impression is definitely the pyramids. As everyone knows, Egypt's gold culture has a long history. Gold is the first metal known to mankind. In Latin it is known as "the glorious dawn". The brilliant color of gold, often compared to the radiance of the sun, brings strength and warmth.
The world's first gold mine
Things are rare, and the brilliance of gold is naturally inevitable to the war of the golden iron horse. The earliest users of gold were actually the Egyptians more than 5,500 years ago. In Egypt at that time, there was a saying of one gold and two parts silver. The oldest gold mine in the world, unearthed in Nubia, a small country on the upper Nile.
At that time, in order to occupy gold resources, the Egyptian pharaoh launched three large-scale wars in 500 years. Eventually, the gold mines fell into the hands of the Egyptians, and the Nubians became slaves. With abundant gold resources, the Egyptians had water conservancy, developed agriculture, built magnificent palaces, temples, and mausoleums, and finally created the five ancient civilizations of the world - ancient Egyptian civilization.
Egyptian gold gods worship
The ancient Egyptians' worship of gold stemmed from their worship of the sun god, so a large number of gold nuggets would be piled up in the storerooms of Egyptian temples as sacrifices to the gods; Egyptian pharaohs often gave large amounts of gold to their courtiers as praise and honor. In addition, gold is often made into various jewelry, talismans, utensils, not only before death, but also buried in the ground with the owner, hoping that gold can protect life and prolong life.
Pyramids – the essence of ancient Egyptian civilization. The tombs of the pharaohs of the past are like treasures of gold, and a large number of gold products have been unearthed. For example, the mausoleum of the predeceased king Tutankhamun, the amount of gold jewelry and the exquisite craftsmanship are amazing. One archaeologist claimed that the mask, coffin and throne of Pharaoh Tutankhamun could outweigh the most treasured artifacts in any museum in the world.
Gold wasn't just an Egyptian
While the Egyptians were vigorously developing their gold culture, the Greeks on the other side of the Mediterranean were also busy digging gold mines. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of European civilization. Among them, the Minoan kingdom of Crete gathered skilled craftsmen to sell gold and silver jewelry to Asia and Egypt, and then exchange them for gold ore.
However, with the passage of time, the gold culture that once prevailed in Egypt gradually declined. Today, gold is no longer as noble as it was in ancient times. But Egypt still has many gold relics preserved, which are profound and precious. It provided important help for us to study the history and humanities of the world at that time.
Witnesses of ancient civilizations
Today, Egypt's remaining gold artifacts are mainly preserved in the Cairo Museum and the Luxor Museum. One of the most famous gold artifacts is the "Book of Gold" at the Temple of Teit Akamankh. It is a book made of pure gold that chronicles the deeds of Pharaoh Ramses II. In addition, the Sun Gate and the Moon Gate of the Luxor Temple, as well as the Golden Staff of Sharm El Sheikh, are also very precious gold products.
In addition to the parts that are treasured by museums, Egypt also has many ancient gold jewelry, utensils, etc. that are treasured by folk collectors. For example, the unique gold cup of Archimedes the Great of Alexandria is now the favorite of an unknown collector.
Guokun's message:
The wheel of history never stops, and although Egypt's golden culture no longer exists, it still retains a very strong cultural and historical significance. These exquisite gold jewelry are an important window for us to understand ancient civilization, and also make people more clearly understand the preciousness and sacredness of gold.