Headpiece to the Staff of Ra
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| ARTIFACT | |
| Headpiece to the Staff of Ra | |
|---|---|
| |
| Culture | Ancient Egyptian |
| Discovery | 1926 |
| Discovered by | Abner Ravenwood |
| Collected by | Marion Ravenwood |
- "Take back one kadam to honor the Hebrew God, whose Ark this is"
- ―Inscription on the Headpiece, as translated by Imam[src]
The Headpiece to the Staff of Ra was a much sought-after medallion which was originally designed as a means to reveal the location of the Ark of the Covenant. The headpiece was designed to be placed atop the Staff of Ra and used in the Map Room at Tanis to reveal the location of the Well of the Souls, the resting place of the Ark.
Contents |
History
Edit
The actual Staff of Ra, in and of itself just a simple a shaft of wood, was apparently long lost to history, but the headpiece contained instructions on how high to make a substitute staff. The instructions written on the headpiece stated that the staff should be six kadams high. However, the other side of the headpiece held specific instructions to take back one kadam to honor the Hebrew God.
The headpiece was discovered by the archeologist Abner Ravenwood in 1926, and later came into the hands of his daughter Marion, who wore it around her neck as a medallion.
In 1934, Marion was robbed of the headpiece by a mercenary. She chased the thief to Tibet and teamed up with a member of the Adventure Society she met along the way. Together they tracked the medallion to a monastery where the thief believed the artifact was the key to treasure there.
Marion gave the headpiece to Indiana Jones (for several thousand dollars) when he was searching for the Ark of the Covenant in 1936.
Added by DarthtylerThe headpiece was momentarily in the possession of Nazi Gestapo agent Toht, during a fight at Ravenwood's bar. However, the headpiece had become extraordinarily hot having fallen into the fireplace, and the medallion scarred Toht's hand, leaving the imprint of the markings on his palm that allowed French archaeologist René Belloq to create his own headpiece for the Nazis to locate the Ark. However, their headpiece lacked the markings on the other side, which led Indiana and Sallah to discover that "they're digging in the wrong place."
Indiana, using the information on the headpiece, was able to locate the Well of Souls and, along with Sallah, discovered the Ark (only to have it taken from them by Belloq and the Nazis).
Behind the scenesEdit
Added by VetinariThe headpiece prop was created for the Raiders art department by sculptor and miniaturist Barry Minot.
Despite being implied in the movie to be Egyptian, the writing around the edges appears to actually be Hebrew block letters. However, upon closer inspection, the script is actually revealed to be the Phoenician alphabet, the first widely used non-cuneiform Semitic abjad.
AppearancesEdit
- Indiana Jones Adventure World
- Raiders of the Lost Ark novel (First appearance)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
- LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Non-canonical appearance)
- LEGO Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick (Non-canonical appearance)
- LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Non-canonical appearance)
