Warehouse 13 Artifact Database Wiki
Warehouse 13 Artifact Database Wiki
Book of Thoth

Origin

Thoth

Type

Book

Effects

Allows the reshaping and refinement of artifacts

Downsides

No information known

Activation

Unknown

Section

Out and About List

Aisle

N/A

Shelf

N/A

Date of Collection

Uncollected
MAXIMUM PRIORITY

[Source]


Origin[]

The Book of Thoth is said to be written by Thoth The Egyptian God of Knowledge. It was said to be kept in the bottom of the Nile in a series of boxes each guarded by many serpents.

Thoth was considered one of the more important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. As in the main picture, Thoth is almost always shown holding a Was (a wand or rod symbolizing power) in one hand and an Ankh (the key of the Nile symbolizing life) in the other hand.

Thoth played many vital and prominent roles in Egyptian mythology, such as maintaining the universe and being one of the two deities (the other being Ma'at) who stood on either side of Ra's boat. In the later history of ancient Egypt, Thoth became heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes, the arts of magic, the system of writing, the development of science, and the judgment of the dead.

Effects[]

Exact use and effects of the Book are unknown. By some means yet undiscovered it either contains instructions to, or directly has the ability to, refines and alter an existing natural artifact into a form desired by the user. The scope and limits of this power are likewise unknown.

History[]

Earliest definite use of the Book was during the life of Imhotep, and was responsible for the creation of his ScarabHatshepsut's Golden Beehive, as well as several other artifacts recovered from Warehouse 2. It was never stored there itself, according to (admittedly aged and damaged) documents. Either the Book itself or the knowledge it contains made its way to the Saracen in the 11th Century, where they used it to create a powerful weapon. Genghis Khan also made use of the Book's power in the 13th Century to refine some stones from the Servian Wall into the, still in use, Remati Shackle.

The last trace of its use was in the events surrounding Paracelsus, who obtained part of the artifact-creation procedure. Using two artifacts that may have originally been a part of the Book or created using its power, he successfully created the Philosopher's Stone, though with considerable effort and sacrifice. He did not reveal the source of his knowledge during interrogation, nor was the Book recovered from his possessions.

Though not confirmed, it is assumed to to its close proximity that it was abused by the Olympians for several generations around 1600 BCE.

Its current location is unknown and recovery is considered maximum priority should any opportunity present itself.

Like many artifacts associated with the Kemetic Pantheon, the Book may have been written within the Duat Caverns.

Neteru Collection
Divinity of Ra Ra's Solar BargeRa's ScepterKhepra AmuletKhnum's Ankh
Soul Statuettes Ba Ib Ren Ka Sheut
Mummification Processes Mask of AnubisAnubis Canopic JarEnsnaring Mummification Linen
Miscellaneous Book of ThothScales of Ma’atAnuket's NecklaceStaff of Set