This is a protective amulet called “cippus or Horus stela”. It depicts the god Horus as a naked child, standing on 2 crocodiles with oryx and serpents in each hand. God Bes can be seen at the upper part. The cippus is inscribed in hieroglyphs on all faces with words to be spoken in defence of health (mainly against snake and scorpion bites). From Egypt. Ptolemaic Period, 305-30 BCE. With thanks to the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. Photo © Osama S. M. Amin.