Mummies with Golden Tongues

Summary

Archaeologists have discovered mummies with gold-foil-wrapped tongues in Egypt, believed to be associated with the god Osiris and the afterlife.

Abstract

Recent archaeological findings in Egypt have unearthed mummies with golden tongues, a phenomenon that has captured the attention of historians and archaeologists alike. These discoveries, made in Alexandria and Minya, suggest that the deceased were prepared for the afterlife with the intention of speaking in Osiris's court. The mummies in Alexandria, dated to the Greek and Roman eras, were part of a larger excavation at the Taposiris Magna Temple and included notable artifacts such as a woman’s burial mask. The Minya mummies, from the 26th Dynasty, included a well-preserved male mummy and a female mummy whose coffin had been previously disturbed. The gold tongues, along with other artifacts like green beads and gold amulets, were likely used to ensure the deceased could communicate in the afterlife, with one of the tongues belonging to a child.

Opinions

Kathleen Martinez, leading the University of Santo Domingo archaeological mission, considers the mummies found in Alexandria to be of particular importance due to their association with Osiris and Horus, as indicated by the decorations and artifacts found with them.
Experts speculate that the practice of placing gold tongues in the mouths of the deceased was rooted in the belief that it would grant them the ability to speak in the afterlife, particularly in Osiris's court.
The discovery of the third gold tongue, which belonged to a child, suggests that the practice of placing gold tongues in mummies was not exclusive to adults and may have been a common funerary custom for certain individuals in ancient Egyptian society.

Mummies with Golden Tongues

Archaeologists have been uncovering mummies with gold tongues in the last year.

A mummy with a gold-foil-wrapped tongue was unearthed in Alexandria, Egypt in early 2021. Two more were recently found in Minya, Egypt. The reason seems to be Osiris.

Osiris, also called Usir, was the Egyptian god responsible for both fertility and the embodiment of the dead. The origins of the myth are unclear, though it is thought he was originally a local god in Busiris. However, by 2400 BCE he was enormously important to the religion of the ancient Egyptians and had taken on his duel role.

Experts think it was believed that these mummified mortals would need golden tongues in order to be allowed to speak in Osiris’ court in the afterlife.

The Alexandria mummy was found during an exploration involving 16 burial shafts at Taposiris Magna Temple. The poorly preserved mummies found there are dated back to the Greek and Roman eras.

Kathleen Martinez, who led that University of Santo Domingo archaeological mission, believes two mummies found are particularly important. Osiris is prominent in the decorations of one while the other wore a crown adorned with horns and a cobra. The latter mummy also wore a necklace with a falcon head — a symbol for the Egyptian god Horus.

Also discovered in Alexandria was a woman’s burial mask.

The Minya mummies discovery, about ten months later, was led by a University of Barcelona archaeological mission. The site researchers focused on dated back to the era between 664 BCE and 525 BCE — known as the 26th Dynasty.

The bodies were of a man and woman. The woman’s coffin had been opened sometime in the past and the items within were not well preserved. The man’s tomb remained sealed however, making it a rare discovery.

Neither mummy could be identified. Green beads and three gold amulets shaped like tongues, dated to 30 BCE, were discovered along with the bodies. Two of the tongues were found inside the mummies’ mouths while ARTnews reported that the third had belonged to a three-year-old child.