[algore]

maybe it is just me, but I do not see a beetle.

it looks more like a depiction of a dragon with an energy beam trying to destroy it.

most likely it was a one time use charm designed to absorb an energy beam weapon, but it became unusable.

I wonder if the owner got his own shot off.

[algore]

you can clearly see from the other side where the energy beam dispersed and the fracture marks. It looks like maybe it could have taken a second shot, or at least made it non-lethal.

probably this is why we find so few because they would fracture into a million tiny pieces

[ph_balanced]

I believe “scarab” refers to the overall shape and size of the stone and not to the engraving.

[verum ago]

it looks more like a depiction of a dragon with an energy beam trying to destroy it.

FTA:
Further analysis at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland revealed that the scarab, crafted from carnelian, depicted a griffin or a winged horse galloping

...I do like your theory better though. Much more exciting. Of course, a winged horse might've been the laser dragon of 800 BC...

If time travel is possible, I wanna go back and ambush an ancient Chinese or Egyptian squad in full view of a bunch of witnesses with flash bangs and an M-16 (bayonet and weapon light mounted), while wearing pink crocs, bell bottoms, a fluorescent green safety jacket, a gas mask, and a santa cap.

Imagine the subsequent depictions that archeologists would find and contort themselves into knots trying to come up with a mythology to explain it...