Both surface bars and barbells with bars made from flexible material, such as tygon or teflon, are commonly used as both initial and long term jewelry in nape piercings. From Wikipedia
The Amarna Period of ancient Egypt was the era of the reign of Akhenaten (1353-1336 BCE), known as 'the heretic king'... Amarna Amarna is the modern Arabic name for the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaten, capital of the country under...
The subsequent Aksumite empire, based at Axum (Aksum) from around the second century BC, appears to have been a Semitic Jewish kingdom that was formed at Axum by Jewish settlers who were escaping from Elephantine in Egypt after their temple was destroyed.