[Sidenote: Geographical range of Egyptian scarab-seals.] Many Egyptian scarab-seals have been found in regions other than the Nile Valley. In Syria they have been turned up in plenty. In Cyprus, Rhodes, the Aegean Islands and the Greek mainland, numerous examples have been found. They have also been discovered at Crete, in Italy and Sardinia, on the north coast of Africa, and in Babylonia,—in all places in fact that had trade relations with the Egyptians. [Sidenote: Varieties of Shape.] The period to which a scarab belongs may often be determined from its shape and the markings on the back of the beetle; hence it is important to carefully note the varieties of form which occur. In fig. 58 will be seen a specimen of a scarab-beetle (the real _Scarabaeus sacer_[113]) with the nomenclature of its various parts described: these names will be used in later references. [Sidenote: Pre-Middle Kingdom.] [Illustration: Fig. 58.] The earliest examples known are of pottery, glazed, small in size and somewhat rough in modelling. The lines are coarse, but distinguish the head, _prothorax_ and body, with _elytra_ marked. The specimens figured, No. 59, are from El Mahasna, and are now in the museum at Cairo. Probably they may be dated, the discoverer tells me, to the rise of the Middle Kingdom, just before the Eleventh Dynasty. The example bearing the name of Mer-en-ra (fig. 56) is of this class. [Illustration: Fig. 59.] [Sidenote: The Twelfth Dynasty.] Three varieties of form are characteristic of the Twelfth Dynasty. The earliest, dated approximately to the reigns of Usertsen I and Usertsen II, show the beetle carefully modelled, with _clypeus_ (fig. 60), _prothorax_ and _elytra_, as well as the legs, well defined. Just later, about the time of Amenemhat III, a more decorative and conventional style appears, in which, while the lines are treated with more freedom, and small embellishments are introduced for ornamental purposes as in fig. 61, the form and details of the beetle are nevertheless well preserved. A common form of this date is shown in fig. 62: it is noticeable that the _elytra_ are not outlined, but the marking of the head, eyes, and legs appears as in the previous examples. This type, with slight variations, perseveres, being traceable through the Hyksos period, and reflected in specimens of the early Eighteenth Dynasty. [Illustration: Fig. 60 and 61.] [Illustration: Fig. 62 and 63.]