Mummies with Gold Tongues

 Recently new mummies have been found in Egypt. These two mummies have been found with gold tongues.  

The mummies were found in El Bahnasa, which is the modern city of Oxyrhynchus. It is one of the most important places for archaeological digs.  

The tombs are believed to date back to the 26th dynasty or 664 BCE to 525 BCE. 

    One mummy was female, and the other was male. The male tomb was left completely untouched and had never been opened which is extremely rare.  

  According to the Smithsonian “The other tomb, which had already been raided by grave robbers around the time of burial, held a sarcophagus in the shape of a woman, but the mummified remains were in poor shape.”  

Two gold tongues were found in the woman’s mouth. The Smithsonian also reported that “one inside the woman’s mouth, and another believed to have been placed in the mouth of a child’s remains.” 

  The gold tongues are especially unique. They have only been found in El Bahnasa and Alexandria.  

  In February of 2021 mummies similar to these were found. According to New York Times “Archaeologists working at a temple on the outskirts of the Egyptian city of Alexandria have found 16 human burial chambers there, the government’s ministry of tourism and antiquities announced on Friday.Two of the people buried there had golden tongues nestled in their jawbones.” 

  The gold tongues are very important to their religion. They are used so that they can speak in the afterlife. Gold was very important to Egyptians as it stood for something eternal.  

However, this practice was only for elite burials. Often the poor did not get the same privileges in the afterlife.  

  Still, we are constantly finding new artifacts that help give us a new insight to ancient Egyptian culture.