Ancient mummies with gold tongues unearthed in cemetery near Cairo
2 Min Read
In the latest discovery of such kind, several ancient tombs that contain mummies with gold tongues in their mouths have been discovered.
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Ancient mummies with gold tongues found in cemetery near Cairo
Archaeologists discovered several ancient tombs containing mummies with gold tongues in their mouths in the ancient cemetery Qewaisna, located about 40 miles north of Cairo, Egypt. The discoveries date back to the time period between 300 BCE and 640 CE.
Egypt’s Supreme Council for Archaeology said it discovered an extension of the cemetery that held archaeological tombs dating to various periods.
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A number of golden chips in the form of human tongues were found in a poor state of preservation inside some of the mummies’ mouths. Several mummies were discovered with gold on their bones just beneath their linen wraps. Some of the gold chips were shaped like scarabs and lotus flowers.
The team also discovered funerary amulets, pottery, glue, and tar used in the burial process, as well as the remains of wooden coffins and several copper nails.
The mummies' tongues are thought to have been removed during the embalming process and replaced with gold so that they could communicate with Osiris, the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld.
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This is not the first time mummies with gold tongues have been discovered at this location. Last year, a skull with a tongue-shaped ornament, as well as a man, woman, and child with gold tongues, were discovered.
Excavations at the cemetery indicate that it was used during three distinct time periods, according to Ayman Ashmawi, the head of the Egyptian archaeology sector at the Supreme Council of Archaeology. As archaeologists dug deeper, they noticed changes in burial practices.
Notably, there were different directions of burial as well as varied ways of placing the bodies.
Qewaisna was first discovered in 1989 and has been excavated several times since then. Structures from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods have been discovered there.
