2,600-year-old jewelry stash from ancient Egypt includes gold statuette depicting family of gods

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 2,600-year-old pot full of gold jewelry, including a rare statuette that depicts a family of gods and may have been worn as an amulet.

A team found the pot at Karnak Temple, a complex near Luxor (ancient Thebes). The temple was initially built around 4,000 years ago and was continuously expanded, renovated and modified over millennia. A number of deities were worshipped at the site, including Amun, the chief god of Thebes.

The finds include beads, amulets and statuettes, many of which are gold, according to a translated statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

They "were discovered in the northwestern sector of the Karnak Temple complex," Abdelghaffar Wagdy, an archaeologist with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities who is co-leader of the team, told Live Science in an email. "This area is suspected to have housed administrative and storage facilities."

One of the most remarkable finds is a gold statuette that depicts the deities Amun, Khonsu and Mut standing beside each other. These gods were a family: Amun was the chief god of Thebes, his wife Mut was a mother goddess, and their son Khonsu was a moon god. All three gods were associated with Thebes, and depictions of the three together have been found in previous excavations in Egypt. The statuette may have been worn on the neck like an amulet, Wagdy said.

"The depiction of the Theban Triad on the amulet likely symbolizes the devotion to the divine family of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu," Wagdy said, noting that the person who owned it may have been hoping to receive divine protection.

Related: 13 ancient Egyptian mummies found with gold tongues to help them talk in the afterlife

"The golden triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu is intricately designed and is right at home in Karnak Temple, as [this] cult temple is dedicated for the [worship] of these three deities," said Shelby Justl, an Egyptologist and lecturer in the critical writing program at the University of Pennsylvania who is not part of the excavation team.

Some of the amulets found in the pot are wadjet (also spelled wedjet) amulets, which are eye-shaped amulets that "for the Egyptians, imbues healing power and symbolizes rebirth," Justl told Live Science. "An amulet in this shape was thought to protect its wearer and to transfer the power of regeneration onto him or her."

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Examples of the 2,600-year-old jewelry discovered at Karnak Temple.

This gold statuette depicts, from left, the deities Mut, Amun and Khonsu — three deities that were worshipped at Karnak Temple.

Why was the jewelry buried in a pot?

It's unclear why the jewelry was buried in a pot. "The collection appears to be typical of a rare type of 'cache' or 'hoard' of valuable precious metals buried for uncertain reasons," Peter Brand, a history professor at the University of Memphis in Tennessee who is not part of the excavation team, told Live Science in an email.

Wagdy said there are a number of possibilities, including that the jewelry could be votive offerings given to the deities during a ritual. Or perhaps they were a donation to the temple treasury. Another possibility is that they were buried for safekeeping during a time of political unrest in the area.

"Finding so many beautifully crafted items of gold together and in a location associated with the living and not a grave is rare," Justl said, noting that it's possible that the jewelry was manufactured in nearby workshops and sealed in the pot to prevent the items from being stolen.

Jack Ogden, a jewelry historian who has conducted extensive research on Egyptian jewelry but is not part of the excavation team, noted that the jewelry seems to have been designed for burial and not everyday wear.

"The goldwork appears from the photos to be fairly flimsy, so one suspects that it was purely funerary," Ogden said. The area near Karnak Temple contains many tombs, Ogden said, and it's possible that an ancient grave robber stole the jewelry but had to unexpectedly hide their stash.

"One explanation is that it was an ancient tomb robber's haul concealed for safety but never recovered," Ogden said. "It would be useful for whoever studies it all to try to work out if the breaks and damage were likely caused by less-than-gentle removal from a mummy."