Ancient Egyptian Cartouche is a special glyph that gave information on birth dates of people with high statuses. They were made of oval shape and formed as a plaque structure. The cartouches in ancient Egypt had special indications to suggest the significance of the person in the kingdom.

Traditionally, Pharaohs in ancient Egypt had many names. One Pharaoh would have up to five names. Usually, when a member of a high family or royal family was born, a name was bestowed on that person. The other four names would be designated once the Pharaoh started service to the people.

As per ancient Egyptian customs, assigning names was designed to transform the Pharaoh from a mere mortal to someone who has divine powers. However, for every Pharaoh, the name given at birth held the most significance. This was the name that would be etched on an ancient Egypt cartouche plaque for a Pharaoh.

Cartouches were unknown in ancient Egypt and their concept was established only during the fourth dynasty. King Snerfu was instrumental in bringing about the significance of the ancient Egypt cartouche in everyday life. The word ”cartouche” was not the original assignment given to the symbolic representation. This word was actually bestowed upon this symbolic representation by the Napoleon brigade.

Before the Egyptians invented the cartouche system to record birth dates, the serekh system was used. Archaeologists have been able to uncover quite many of these hieroglyphs. The serekh of Horus was the most important discovery made. Horus was regarded as God incarnate, and the Egyptians revered this person as all-powerful and all-pervasive.

The importance of Cartouche in ancient Egyptian culture

The Egyptians attached a lot of importance to cartouches. They even regarded it as a way of bringing good luck and fortune. Ancient Egyptian manuscripts indicate that the cartouche was placed at certain locations in the house to ward away evil and augur positive energy. Even though superstition ruled the lives of ancient Egyptians, it was aesthetic and culturally vibrant.

It was due to the cartouches that archaeologists have been able to find tombs of kings. Later, mummies were discovered intact in these tombs. All this was because cartouches were beacons of a protective force protecting a precious thing.

The discovery of cartouches from ancient Egypt led researchers to discover other things. Since cartouches were believed to protect the area in which they were located, researchers prodded further deep into these sites to eventually discover mummies and majestic tombs. Without ancient Egypt cartouche items, it would have taken longer to find these ruins.