An extremely glittering grave goods.
Archaeologists have discovered some ancient mummies in Egypt that sport gold plaques for tongues, reports the Egypt Independent. In particular, three golden tongues were found in three different mummies, respectively in the mummy of a man, a woman and one of a child. The discovery was made in the Quweisna necropolis in the central Nile Delta.
Some of the excavated skeletons also have gold enameled bones. Although the reason for the presence of these golden tongues is not entirely clear, it is not the first time that mummies “decorated” with this metal have been found.
Unsurprisingly, at the time of the discovery, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities suspected that the gold had been placed there by embalmers to ensure that the dead could navigate the afterlife. The reason is being understood over the years, thanks to new discoveries and assumptions. Among the theories that emerged, there is that of Osiris’ hatred for noise: it is thought, in fact, that during the funeral celebrations in ancient Egypt silence was imposed and the introduction of a golden tongue allowed the mummies to talk to Osiris without making unnecessary noise.
Another aspect to consider is that only a few mummies have been prepared for their encounter with the afterlife equipped with gold, although it was a very common material in ancient Egypt and, above all, widely used for making ornaments for funeral rites . At the time, the precious metal was considered the flesh of the gods, especially the skin of the sun god, Ra, and was associated with the concept of eternity. Ra was the head of all the gods of ancient Egypt, the creator of everything, and was closely related to Osiris. Ra represented the part of the day illuminated by the sun, while Osiris represented the hours of darkness. Thus the golden tongue must have served as a guideline to the light, even in the cold darkness of the underworld.
The mummies found at the site, unfortunately, are not in very good condition says Mustafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, unlike the skeletons with the gold outfit.
- Mummies with golden tongues discovered in Quesna. (egyptindependent.
