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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Researchers also found three other golden tongues outside the tombs, dating back to the Roman period of ancient Egypt, which began in 30 BC.
Previously, another mummy discovered at the Taposiris Magna site in ancient Egypt was also found with a golden tongue.
