ScienceEgyptArchaeologyMummies

Mummy With Golden Tongue From 'Special Ritual' For The Afterlife Found In Egypt

The discovery was part of a group of 16 poorly preserved mummies found in a temple complex in western Alexandria.
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By 

Overnight Editor, HuffPost

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a mummy with one remarkable feature: a golden tongue. 

The mummy was one of 16 from the Greek and Roman periods (from 332 BC to 640 AD) recently discovered at the Taposiris Magna Temple complex in western Alexandria. 

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement that the mummies were in a poor state of preservation, but one included a skull with “amulets of gold foil in the form of a tongue.” The tongue was “placed in the mouth of the mummy in a special ritual to ensure their ability to speak in the afterlife before the Osirian court.”

Ancient Egyptians believed the deceased would face judgment in a ritual that included a plea before a panel of 42 judges and the god Osiris. A golden tongue might help make the case: 

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Mummy With A Golden Tongue
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

While the golden tongue may be the most talked-about discovery from the site, archaeologists say two other mummies found at the location are even more extraordinary. In a ministry news release posted on Facebook, Dr. Kathleen Martinez of the University of Santo Domingo, who has searching for years for Cleopatra’s tomb in the same complex, said the pair had the remains of scrolls and parts of a cartonnage, a type of funerary mask that covered the mummy. 

One had gilded decorations showing Osiris while the other had a crown with horns and a cobra as well as a chest featuring a necklace with the head of a falcon, a symbol of the god Horus.

The archaeologists also found eight golden flakes representing the leaves of a golden wreath, a funerary mask for a woman and eight marble sculptures. 

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One of the discoveries from the Taposiris Magna Temple in western Alexandria.
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

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Before You Go

Mummies
Mummies Around The World(01 of07)
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This mummy, known as "Mumab," is only 15 years old but it was done in the ancient Egyptian style by Dr. Bob Brier and Ronn Wade, who used the cadaver of a Baltimore man who died in his seventies of heart failure, and donated his body to science. (credit:Courtesy: San Diego Museum of Man)
(02 of07)
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The ancient Egyptians used to remove the vital organs of the people they mummified and would place them in airtight canopic jars.
Mummies Around The World(03 of07)
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This Peruvian child mummy, known as the "Detmold Child," has been radiocarbon dated to 4504-4457 B.C. -- more than 3,000 years before the birth of King Tut. The child, which was about 10 months old when it died, naturally mummified in the hot, arid desert environment. (credit:American Exhibitions, Inc.)
Mummies Around The World(04 of07)
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Michael Orlovits and his wife, Veronica, and son Johannes, are part of a group of 18th century mummies discovered in a long, forgotten church crypt in the town of Vac, Hungary, in 1994. Born in 1765, Michael died in 1806 at the age of 41. He worked as a miller, grinding grain into flour and is wearing a replica of the original clothing in which he was buried. (credit:American Exhibitions, Inc.)
Mummies Around The World(05 of07)
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This young woman with long, black hair was naturally mummified in the warm desert air, seated in the burial position typical in Chile before 1400 A.D. She was wrapped in fabric after her death, the impression of which is still visible on her chin and cheeks. She has unusual tattoos; an oval with a dot inside on both breasts and beneath the left corner of her mouth. Little is known about the meaning of these mysterious tattoos. (credit:American Exhibitions, Inc.)
Mummies Around The World(06 of07)
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This howler monkey is from the site of Grand Chaco, in Argentina, South America. It has not been radiocarbon dated, but it is likely that the monkey was naturally preserved in the warm, dry environment of the area and prepared for display, with a rhea feather skirt and feather wreath around its head and neck. (credit:American Exhibitions, Inc.)
Mummies Around The World(07 of07)
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This Egyptian mummy is an adult man who was unwrapped long after his mummification. Analysis of a CT scan data shows that the man was around 45 to 50 years old and around 5 feet, 4 inches tall when he died. The body still has the remains of the gold that was applied to his face and hands during the mummification process. His fingernails are dark red, although it is not yet known if this was caused by disease or was cosmetic. (credit:American Exhibitions, Inc.)
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