Golden flies as military awards? It doesn’t fly!

In their well-known inscriptions, Ahmose Pennekhbet (Louvre C49) and Amenemhab Mahu (TT85) of the Eighteenth Dynasty described their many adventures (participating in military campaigns, killing and capturing numerous enemies, hunting animals), emphasising just how fantastic they were. They also described receiving many gifts from the kings they served: slaves, weapons, gold jewellery, but also golden flies. As many pendants in the form of flies (made of both gold and other materials) have been discovered in Egypt, it is assumed that these inscriptions refer to them. Receiving fly pendants may seem rather bizarre, but in 1911 Kurt Sethe suggested an interpretation: he assumed that, as fli