Dr Angela McDonald, Senior Lecturer, Egyptology, Classics, School of Humanities/Sgoil nan Daonnachdan, University of Gla

Animals lurked at the ends of ancient Egyptian words, silently imparting meaning. They were visible only to a select few who could read texts; the vast majority of people who listened to texts being read aloud might have been unaware of the role they played. But even the literate did not encounter all animals equally in the script. On the spectrum of popular use, the crocodile sat at the busy end, appearing in a variety of words connected with violence, greed and insidiousness. Other aquatic creatures, however, had a much more restricted role, particularly the humble mollusc. Despite the fact that shells appear in the material record throughout dynastic Egypt, the creatures that lived inside them remain elusive. How can we coax these creatures out of their shells and into the light so that we can consider their meaning?