Scientists have discovered many tombs here. Upon closer inspection, some mummies turned out to be very unusual – they had golden tongues.

What is known about the tomb

The gold-tongued mummies were found in a recently discovered part of an archaeological complex in ancient Egypt that houses multiple bodies from three different time periods.

Such artifacts are only part of all finds. Other people were buried next to them, but the bones were decorated with artifacts of ancient goldsmiths in the form of scarabs and lotus flowers instead of golden tongues.

The key to the riddle lies in Egyptian funerary rituals and religion.

• 2,500 years ago, the Egyptians believed that strict observance of silence would ensure Osiris’ love for the deceased. A shiny tongue made of precious metal he had to allow the deceased to communicate with god without noise. But if that’s the case, it’s not clear why only some mummies were buried with tongues of gold.
• According to another version, the tongue made of “yellow” metal was supposed to symbolize the desire to find light in the otherworldly darkness. In ancient Egypt, gold was a popular material for making jewelry for funerals. The shimmering element 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 leader of all ancient Egyptian gods, the creator of all things, and was closely related to Osiris.

Golden-tongued skull / Photo Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Whatever the truth, so far scientists can only guess why mummies needed such languages.

Egyptian ministry officials say the mummies found at Quwaisna are in poor condition and their secrets are scattered with them.