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Eid Mar – Beware the Ides of March!

Beware the Ides of March (aka Eid Mar)!! Today is a non-Egypt post, but it’s about something that is very special and meaningful to my Nonno. I wish you all could have seen his face light up every time he spoke about this coin and the history behind it.

Not only did my Nonno love ancient Egypt and Rome, he had a passion for numismatics (the study of coins/paper money). He particularly loved Roman coins, and knew so much about them. The coin pictured (which is a replica of the original and made into a necklace) was his absolute favorite. He would speak about this coin – The EID MAR Denarius – often; he even kept a picture of the coin in his wallet. That’s how much he loved it. Nonno would often tell me and my sister about how Julius Caesar was murdered. It was a story he loved to share; talk about cool bedtime stories!!!Β 

Eid Mar Coin
Brutus on the obverse (front of the coin)
Eid Mar Coin
Eid Mar with two daggers and the liberty cap on the reverse (back of the coin)

On March 15th, 44 B.C.E, Brutus (on the obverse [front] of the coin) and his co-conspirators (who called themselves The Liberators) stabbed Julius Caesar over 30 times with daggers that they had hidden in their clothes. They believed that they would free the Roman Republic from the threat of tyranny if they could remove Julius Caesar from power. That was not the case – the public was fond of Caesar and even Marc Antony condemned Brutus and the Liberators’ actions.  Brutus was forced to leave Rome with his army. 

The EID MAR coin is so historically significant and is considered the greatest ancient coin of all time because it proves the fact that Brutus was involved with the assassination of Julius Caesar. Brutus issued the coin to remind his soldiers that they fought for the Roman Republic. The reverse side of the coin has two daggers, with the liberty cap (ancient symbol of freedom) in the middle. EID MAR is written underneath. Interestingly, people who were still alive usually didn’t appear on coins – in fact, Brutus hated that Caesar had put his own portrait on coins! 

It was Nonno’s dream to own one of these coins, but there are only about 80 of the silver coins and two of the gold versions that are known, which makes them extremely valuable. 

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Blog Egyptian Artifacts

My Favorite Egyptian Artifacts

Happy 700 𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲 posts to @ancientegyptblog 𓃣 on Instagram!! Thank you 𓋴𓏏𓍯𓄿𓀒 all π“ŽŸ for your continued support – it means the world 𓇾𓇾 to me!

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ for a special post, I wanted to share some of my absolute favorite Egyptian π“†Žπ“π“€€π“ artifacts that I have seen in museums! Now, these objects aren’t the β€œbig ticket” items, or objects that most people run and see, however, these are the ones that I love and items that you can probably see at your local museums!Β 

Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ – it’s no secret that I love reading hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, and I love seeing them no matter what object they appear on! 

Hieroglyphs King's List
Me with the King’s List in the British Museum

Ushabtis π“…±π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“π“­π“€Ύ- my favorite little guys who perform tasks for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 in the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐! There are so many different types across various time periods of Egyptian history! I love them all!Β 

Ushabtis
The Ushabti display at the Brooklyn Museum

Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ Statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ- Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ was one of the only commoners to be deified, and he was the architect of Egypt’s π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– first 𓏃 pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴! My Nonno loved Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ, and I do too! This Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ Statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 pictured is my favorite one at the Vatican!

My favorite Imhotep statue at the Vatican Museum – Look at those ears!!

Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺- better known to the Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ as the β€œBook of Going Forth By Day,” this papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 would provide spells needed for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 to reach the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. This one pictured is the Papyrus of Hunefer, which contains my favorite β€œWeighing of the Heart” scene.Β 

Book of the Dead of Hunefer
The Weighing of the Heart Scene from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer at the British Museum

Wooden Sarcophagi π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­π“ͺΒ  (with the Eyes) – The eyes 𓁹𓏏𓏦 on this side of the sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ would allow the mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾 to see outside of it! My Nonno told me this every time we were in a museum and saw a sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ like this!Β 

Middle Kingdom Sarcophagus
Middle Kingdom sarcophagus with the eyes! (the MET)

Anything Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 – Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣, the god π“ŠΉ of mummification π“‹΄π“‚§π“π“…±π“Ž and tombs, has been my favorite god π“ŠΉ, so I get excited every time I see him! Reliefs, sarcophagi π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­π“ͺ, statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ, amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ, – you can find Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 all over!Β 

Anubis relief
My favorite relief of Anubis (from the Middle Kingdom) at the MET

Amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ- I love tiny π“ˆ–π“†“π“‹΄π“…© things so of course I love amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ! Amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ come in all different designs – every day objects, deities π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ, animals – the list is endless! There are so many different types and functions, however their main function was protection of the living 𓆣𓂋𓀀π“ͺ or the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱!Β 

Amulets
Various amulets on display at the MET – including the winged scarab which is one of my favorites!

Hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦ – I am obsessed with the Egyptian Hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― statues! Hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦ were both feared and revered along the Nile π“‡‹π“π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡π“Ί! I always look to see if a museum has one of these!Β 

William the Hippo
William, the blue faience Egyptian hippo at the MET

I hope you enjoyed this highlight of some of my favorite Egyptian artifacts!

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I Miss You Nonno

β€œAll of this is all for you, Oh, I swear to God, you’re living, Through everything I’ll ever do.” – β€œTwo of Us” by Louis Tomlinson – this song really hits if you’re dealing with the death of a loved one. It’s raw and poignant and hard to listen to, but I feel like these particular lyrics really describe a lot.Β 

Nicole (as an infant) and Nonno!
Nicole (as an infant) and Nonno!

Today is a very difficult day for me (and my family), because it’s been three years since my Nonno passed away. It’s been three years since I’ve seen him, since we talked, since we laughed. There are times when I’m overwhelmed with sadness because I still cannot believe it happened. We spent so much time together and life still feels empty without my Nonno here. I’m not going to lie – I spent a lot of yesterday crying, and I will probably spend today that way too.Β 

Nicole and Nonno with a statue of Tutankhamun at the British Museum
Nicole and Nonno with a statue of Tutankhamun at the British Museum

This website (and my original Instagram account) is basically a manifestation of my grief and I started it in April 2020 as a way to try and manage my grief because it was overwhelming me. This account is also a way for my Nonno’s name and image to continue on. All I want is for people to see what an incredible person my Nonno was and how much he meant to me.Β 

Nicole and Nonno at Circus Maximus in Rome
Nicole and Nonno at Circus Maximus in Rome

I’m so lucky that my Nonno shared his passion for history with me at such a young age, and started my lifetime passion. Every time I post, you’re seeing an extension of what my Nonno knew, because he either taught it to me, or graciously gave me his books to read. All of this is Nonno – I’m just the messenger.Β 

Nicole and Nonno outside of the British Museum

Nonno and I have been best buds since day one and while I’m so lucky I had my Nonno with me for 27 years, I still feel like we needed more time. But if I’m being honest, no amount of time would’ve been enough. 

Nonno, I love you and miss you so much.

π“™π“‹Ήπ“†–π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›

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Stela of Hatshepsut Replica

This is a replica of the Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ Stela π“Ž—π“…±π“†“π“‰Έ at the Musei Vaticani that my Nonno gave to me over fifteen years ago. I love this piece so much because the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ on it are so accurate compared to the original stela π“Ž—π“…±π“†“π“‰Έ!

This is one of my most prized possessions because my Nonno have it to me. He brought this for me before we got to see the stela π“Ž—π“…±π“†“π“‰Έ together, because he knew I would absolutely love it, and I do! 

Let me know if you guys enjoy seeing my little collection of Egyptian replica pieces that my Nonno has given me!

Here is one of my posts about this beautiful π“„€ stela π“Ž—π“…±π“†“π“‰Έ!

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas πŸŽ„ // Buon Natale! πŸŽ„

This year for Christmas/Advent, my sister π“Œ’π“ˆ–π“π“ made our Mom 𓅐𓏏𓁐 an advent calendar of beautiful π“„€ homemade ornaments for the Christmas tree 𓆭𓅓𓆭 using pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 from past Christmases! One of the pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 she chose was a picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 of us at the MET with Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ! This picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 definitely qualifies as β€œChristmas Themed” because my sister π“Œ’π“ˆ–π“π“ is wearing a Santa hat, plus this was actually taken during Christmas 2015!Β 

My Nonno loved Christmas and he loved spending Christmas together π“ˆ–π“Š— as a family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦. Christmas 2019 was my Nonno’s last Christmas, and I’m so glad we got to spend it with him. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (we celebrate both days) are very hard now that he isn’t here with us. I miss him so, so much. 

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ – this time it will be Christmas πŸŽ„ themed vocabulary! 

𓋴𓃀𓄿𓇼 – Star

𓆭𓅓𓆭 – Tree

𓄫𓂝𓏺 – Gift, Present

𓅐𓏏𓁐 – Mother 

π“ˆ–π“π“ˆ–π“€• – Baby/Infant

π“Œ™π“²π“π“…‚π“›π“‹Ύ – Shepherd

𓄫𓄣𓏏/𓄫𓏏𓄣𓏺/𓄫𓄣𓏺/π“„«π“„£ – Joy, Happiness (Wide Heart)

𓉔𓂋𓏏𓏛 – Peace

π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“„Ώπ“Έπ“¦ – Sweet Food

π“Šƒπ“‚‹π“ˆŽπ“²π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡ – Snow

π“ˆ–π“Š— – Together 

𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 – Family

From me 𓁐 and my family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 to yours, I hope you all have a joyful 𓄫𓄣𓏏, happy 𓄫𓄣𓏺, and Merry Christmas πŸŽ„! 

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Replica Statue of Rameses II

This little replica of the Rameses II π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“‡³π“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 from the Museo Egizio in Torino was given to me by my Nonno, and I love it so much!

You can read more about this beautiful π“„€ statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 in my post about it!

Here is a picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 to show you where Rameses II π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“‡³π“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ (and a replica ushabti π“…±π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“π“­π“€Ύ figure, also from the Museo Egizio) sits on my bookshelf!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Today in the USA is the Thanksgiving Holiday, which is a day where we gather with our families to express our gratefulness for all that we have. As I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone who follows this account, I am incredibly thankful for my Nonno.

I’m thankful for everything that he taught me and for how he made learning so fun.  I’m thankful that he loved books and showed me the power of books and the knowledge they contain. I’m thankful for all of the knowledge and encouragement he gave me, because without him, I would not be able to read hieroglyphs.

I’m thankful for all of his hard work and the sacrifices he made in order to make sure my family is able to live a good life. Everything good we have is because of him.

I’m thankful that he showed me the power of hard work and I’m thankful he always encouraged me to work hard and to do my best. I wouldn’t be where I am today (a successful teacher, a self-taught (or Nonno-taught) Egyptologist) without him.

I’m thankful for the day we spent together in Pompeii (pictured above) because it was the best day of my life. It was my dream to go to Pompeii with my Nonno and I am so happy we were able to go. I’m thankful for every museum trip, every Disney vacation, and for the days we all just simply hung out together.

I also want to say thank you to the rest of my family – my mom, dad, sister and brother who all support me with this account. My dad drives us to museums and carries my bags, my mom is the director/video recorder/photographer, my sister is also a photographer and my brother gives me lots of support!

Also, a big THANK YOU to everyone on here who has followed along! I appreciate every single one of you!

π“™π“‹Ήπ“†–π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›

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Blog Egyptian Artifacts

“Wonderful Things”

β€œWonderful Things.” 

That quote is from Howard Carter when he first peered into the tombΒ π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰Β of TutankhamunΒ π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“. Honestly, every time I walk through a museum all I can think is β€œWonderful Things” – I feel like that sums up my feelings pretty well!Β 

While I have posted this picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 before, it is one of my absolute favorites and one of the many wonderful things that I have seen! This is my Nonno and I with Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 at the British Museum! I am posting this again because today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–𓇳 is the 100 𓏲 year anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰! 

As a child (and even now) I love the story about howΒ Tutankhamun’sΒ π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“Β tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰Β was discovered! The funerary mask, AnubisΒ π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 shrine, cartouche box, and so many of the other artifacts in the tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰ completely fascinated me and definitely played a part in me becoming so interested in ancient EgyptΒ π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–Β as a child. I have my Nonno to thank for telling me about TutankhamunΒ π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“Β and for encouraging my love and fascination with Egyptian history!Β 

In this particular statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾, Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 is wearing the nemes head cloth π“ˆ–π“…“π“‹΄, false beard, and broad collar π“…±π“‹΄π“π“ŽΊπ“‹. These are all very common things for pharaohs π“‰π“‰»π“¦ to wear to represent themselves as pharaoh π“‰π“‰», which Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 felt he needed to do in order to legitimize his rule π“‹Ύ. The bottom part of the statue is π“π“…±π“π“€Ύ decorated with lotus flowers π“†Έπ“ͺ and papyrus reeds π“ π“ˆ–π“Ž›π“†°. 

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Stargate Graphing Project

Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis are my most favorite tv shows of all time! I started watching them when I was a teenager and instantly loved them. As someone who loves both ancient Egypt and science, StargateΒ π“‹΄π“‡Όπ“ƒ€π“Š€π“ˆ–π“‹΄π“ƒ€π“„Ώπ“‡Όπ“‡³π“¦Β was the perfect combination of both! This picture is of a project that I did for my pre-calc class in high school! We had to make a picture on a graphing calculator using equations, and of course I chose to graph a StargateΒ π“‹΄π“‡Όπ“ƒ€π“Š€π“ˆ–π“‹΄π“ƒ€π“„Ώπ“‡Όπ“‡³π“¦!Β 

I idolized both Daniel Jackson (archaeologist) and Samantha Carter (astrophysicist) and wanted to be just like both of them! I guess my wish came true because over 15 years later, I am teaching hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ to all of you, and I teach astrophysics to high school students! Sam Carter is actually the reason I became a scientist – seeing her do science inspired me! I wanted (and still want) to be just like her! Its crazy how a tv show had such a tremendous and positive impact on my life – its honestly hard to put it into words how much Stargate π“‹΄π“‡Όπ“ƒ€π“Š€π“ˆ–𓋴𓃀𓄿𓇼𓇳𓏦 means to me. 

So how do you write β€œStargate” in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ? Let’s take a look at the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ from the movie: π“‹΄π“‡Όπ“ƒ€π“Š€π“ˆ–𓋴𓃀𓄿𓇼𓇳𓏦 – β€œGate to the Stars” (Stargate)

π“‹΄π“‡Όπ“ƒ€π“Š€ – Gate/Doorway

π“ˆ– – To 

𓋴𓃀𓄿𓇼𓇳𓏦 – Stars

I love how the root word of both gate/doorway and star are the same word: π“‹΄π“ƒ€π“„Ώ. They would both be pronounced like β€œsba” – its just the determinative symbols that are different! In the movie, π“‹΄π“‡Όπ“ƒ€π“Š€ is a little messed up and should be spelled like this: π“‹΄π“ƒ€π“‡Όπ“Š€, but I’ll forgive it because the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ are actually quite good! 

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“First Love”

I’ve had this written for a while but haven’t posted it because it is very feelings-y and very different from my usual posts. I am a huge fan of the group BTS. They are a Korean boy band whose music has basically gotten me through 2020. While I love all of their music, one of their songs has really struck a chord with me because it basically puts my feelings about ancient Egypt into words. The song is called β€œFirst Love” and it is written and performed by Min Yoongi (aka SUGA). While you would expect a song with this title to be about a person, it is in fact about Yoongi’s love for the piano from a very young age and his lifelong journey with his childhood piano.


I have always called Ancient Egypt my β€œfirst love” so when I listened to the song and I read the translation I immediately related to it. While I am passionate about many things, Egypt is always the thing that I will return to because Egypt’s history is just something I love so deeply. Throughout my life, I have so many beautiful memories in my Nonnoβ€˜s basement looking through his books and staring up at the bookcases hoping to one day be able to read every single word that they contain. So many memories of listening to my Nonno explain the significance of each piece in museums. These feelings of childish wonder are emotions that I always wish to return to.

β€œWhen I was fed up and lost, Back then when I fell into a pit of despair, Even when I pushed you away, Even when I resented meeting you, You were firmly by my side, You didn’t have to say anything, So don’t ever let go of my hand, I won’t let you go ever again either, My birth and the end of my life, You will be there to watch over it all” -First Love


I feel like a picture of me with my favorite Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ statue is appropriate for this type of post! I’m 16 in this picture!