The rearing cobra, or uraeus, was the form of Wadjet, protective goddess of Lower Egypt, who was believed to spit fire at the king's enemies. The uraeus was worn on the brow of every pharaoh.
Cobra goddesses were also guardians of the dead, and gilded wooden cobra figures were placed in royal tombs to protect the burial.
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, Cairo, opened in 2021 and traces Egyptian civilization from prehistory to the present; it is also home to the royal mummies moved from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.
