Whispers from the Past: Golden-Tongued Mummies Unearthed in El-Bahnasa

A Spanish archaeological mission has been excavating beneath the city of El-Bahnasa, Egypt, for 30 years and has discovered many tombs from different dynasties. The papyrus texts unearthed here continue to baffle archaeological experts. Recently, they unearthed two 2,500-year-old mummies with golden tongues.

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered ancient tombs containing mummies with golden tongues in their mouths. Also found were gold chips fashioned to take the form of cockroaches and lotus flowers

According to The Times of Israel, the two mummies—a man and a woman—were laid to rest in a limestone sarcophagus in Oxyrhynchus. They died around 525 BC during the end of the Saite Dynasty, the last native Egyptian dynasty to rule their kingdom before the Persian conquest in the 6th century BC.

One of the ancient skulls discovered had a golden tongue placed inside the mouth.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stated that in ancient beliefs, golden tongues allowed the deceased to speak with Osiris, the god of the underworld, who judged those who entered the afterlife. While the 402 small statues, amulets, and fragments found in the tombs are also impressive, the condition of the male mummy’s sarcophagus has captivated experts the most.

It’s thought the real tongue would be removed during embalming and replaced with the golden object so the deceased could speak to Osiris in the afterlife

Excavation director Esther Pons Melado said, “This is very important because it is rare to find a tomb completely sealed like this.”

According to Egypt Today, the Oxyrhynchus excavation site is located in Minya Governorate, about 100 miles from the capital, Cairo. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, stated that the woman’s tomb appears to have been opened previously, while the man’s tomb and sarcophagus were completely untouched.

Inside the two tombs are the remains of a man and a woman, who died about 2,500 years ago, carefully embalmed.

When the team opened the intact tomb, researchers found a well-preserved male mummy and four classic jars used to hold the mummy’s internal organs. It also contained hundreds of small terracotta statues called faience, as well as a scarab and various other amulets.

Also found at Qewaisna necropolis were s a number of funeral ornaments, stone mortars and pottery

These small statues resemble the god Horus, an ancient Egyptian deity often depicted as a man with the head of a falcon, who was responsible for protecting the monarchy.

Hassan Amer, a professor in the Department of Greco-Roman Archaeology at Cairo University and co-director of the excavation, said, “When we excavated the tomb of the male mummy, we found jars containing 402 Ushabti statues, a set of small amulets, and green beads.”

Researchers discovered 402 small Ushabti statues resembling the ancient god Horus. Ushabti is the name of a small statue buried with the dead in ancient Egyptian culture. These ushabti statues act as servants to serve the deceased when they return to the afterlife.

Meanwhile, the woman’s sarcophagus had been unsealed previously, probably in ancient times, and looted by grave robbers who took valuable items. Apparently, the grave robbers did not dare to take the woman’s tongue despite opening her sarcophagus, nor did they continue their work with the adjacent tomb where the man was resting. Both mummies were placed in limestone sarcophagi, with their golden tongues still found inside their mouths.

The mummy with the golden tongue is considered well preserved, because the skull and most of the body’s structures are still intact.

Researchers also found three other golden tongues outside the tombs, dating back to the Roman period of ancient Egypt, which began in 30 BC.