New Lines in the Sand: Protective Circles, the Semiotics of Encircling, and Carved Ivory Tusks in Egyptological Discourse

This thesis reexamines the Middle Kingdom Egyptian carved ivory tusks, often labeled in scholarship as "apotropaic wands" or "magic knives." These curved objects, typically made of hippopotamus ivory and decorated with protective figures and inscriptions, have long been assumed to function as handheld ritual tools—most commonly used to draw protective circles around women and children, especially in childbirth. While this interpretation has shaped Egyptological discourse for over a century, it rests on limited material evidence. I challenge the persistence of the encircling hypothesis by focusing on the tusks' physical characteristics. After reviewing the history of terminology and its embedded assumptions, I analyze a subcorpus of fifty-nine archaeologically excavated tusks compiled by Stephen Quirke. The majority show no signs of tip wear consistent with scraping, while nearly all display strikingly consistent patterns of y-axial breakage prior to deposition. This evidence suggests that intentional fragmentation, rather than encircling, was central to their use. Piercing, repurposing, and selective smoothing further point to complex life histories in which production, handling, ritual transformation, and burial were all integral. By foregrounding material analysis alongside semiotic considerations, this study critiques the tendency of modern scholarship to impose functional labels such as "wand," "knife," or "apotropaia" without corroborating ancient evidence. Reframing these objects simply as carved ivory tusks allows for interpretations rooted in their observable features and culturally specific practices. Ultimately, this thesis argues that the tusks' meanings cannot be reduced to a single ritual act but emerge instead from the interplay of iconography, materiality, and deliberate acts of use and destruction.