The Hypocephalus: An Ancient Egyptian Funerary Amulet

Abstract

The hypocephalus is still a topic seldom investigated in Egyptology. Between 1961 and 1998, Edith Varga studied the antecedents of the object type, discussing all practices aimed at the protection of the head up to the 4th century BC from all over Egypt.1 Through her ongoing commitment to the subject, hypocephali were ‘rediscovered’ for Egyptology. She identified no fewer than two-thirds of the examples presently known, and published these in several articles.2 The analysis and typology of these amuletic objects at the time when they appeared in the 4th century BC remained for a further research project. In my work, I aimed at continuing the research of Edith Varga, and at presenting the catalogue of hypocephali to the public.