Archaeologists Discover Mummies Buried With Gold Tongues in Egypt

Archaeologists Discover Mummies Buried With Gold Tongues in Egypt

The tongues were to allow the dead to communicate with afterlife god Osiris according to experts - Image Source: Egypt Ministry of Antiquities

ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Egypt have discovered several mummies buried with gold plated tongues in the ancient port city of Alexandria.

The team of researchers, from Egypt and the Dominican Republic, made the discovery in the Taposisiris Magna temple complex in the Mediterranean port of Alexandria – one of the ancient world’s main cities.

They discovered 16 mummies in rock-cut tombs thought to be at least 2,000 years old, dating back to the period when traditional ancient Egyptian society was mixed with Roman and Greek civilisations.

Gold plated tongues had been placed into the mouths of the bodies after their death so that they could speak with Osiris – the ancient Egyptian god of the afterlife and judge of the dead.

The archaeological team at Taposiris Magna also discovered the funeral mask of a woman, eight golden flakes of a golden wreath, and eight marble masks dating back to the Greek and Roman eras.

Egypt’s antiquities ministry say that a number of coins bearing the name and portrait of Queen Cleopatra VII had previously been found inside the temple. The famous ruler was the last Ptolemic queen of Egypt before the land fell under Roman rule in the mid first century AD.


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Oisin Sweeney

Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...

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