Images

In Egypt, the patron god of magic and medicine was Heka. He is often depicted as a man carrying a staff and knife, and ancient Egyptian doctors were called Priests of Heka. Magic was as integral a part of medical practice in ancient Egypt...

Sard gem engraved with a winged caduceus combined with a club. Heka, the patron god of magic and medicine in Egypt was said to have killed two serpents and entwined them on a staff as a symbol of his power; this symbol of the medical arts...

The London Medical Papyrus (c. 1629 BCE) is among the oldest medical texts in the world.

Anubis is the Egyptian god of mummification and the afterlife as well as the patron god of lost souls and the helpless. Modern reproduction.

Egyptian Ba amulet. The ba was a human-headed bird aspect of the soul, which could speed between earth and the heavens. Gold and stone inlay. 3rd century BCE. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

The tomb of Silla general Kim Yu-sin (aka Kim Yushin, 595-673 CE) at Gyeongju, South Korea.

The coin was probably turned into jewellery after circulating for some time. The fact that it is was made from silver (and gold) suggests that coin jewellery was popular among elite and wealthy people. Silver drachm coin of the Sassanian...

The Parthian "King of Kings " Farhad (Phraates) IV, reigned 38-2 BCE, is shown wearing a royal headband (diadem). Divine symbols of the moon crescent and star, and an eagle holding a royal headband, indicate that the king is the rightful...

This curse tablet is engraved with with an appeal to Mars and Mercury regarding a theft. The inscription reads: "To the god Mars/Mercury... gold ring from... and iron fetter... who did wrong...let the god discover". Circa 100-200 CE...

This sheet is decorated with an impression of a coin of the Emperor Valens (Flavius Julius Valens Augustus), 364-378 CE. It may have been intended as a curse against the Emperor. From Fulstow, UK. Donated by Tom Redmayne. (The British Museum...