Archaeologists Dug Up 52 Egyptian Mummies. Over a Dozen Had Mysterious Golden Tongues.

collection of gold artifacts arranged on a white background
Archaeologists Found 13 Golden-Tongued Mummies Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
  • Archaeologists discovered more than a dozen mummies older than 2,000 years with tongues made from golden amulets.

  • Ancient Egyptians’ idea behind the golden tongues was that they would help the deceased speak in the afterlife.

  • The modern-day discovery of ancient golden artifacts in Egyptian tombs can be rare thanks to the prevalence of looting, so taking a peek inside the jaws of history is a stroke of luck.


Painting your tongue gold doesn’t do much good here on Earth, but ancient Egyptians believed giving the deceased a golden amulet in place of a tongue would allow them to speak in the afterlife. Archaeologists in Egypt discovered literal evidence of the practice, opening tombs dating from the Ptolemaic era (305 B.C. to 30 B.C.) in the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus that featured 13 mummies with gold amulets in place of tongues.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities wrote in a translated statement that the gold tongues weren’t the only finds in the tombs, which are located near modern-day Al-Bahnasa, as the team discovered ritual texts, colorful inscriptions and artwork, scarabs and amulets representing deities, canopic jars, and, yep, even more gold (including golden fingernails—another symbol of afterlife protection). The site also featured four fully intact limestone sarcophagi. Archaeologists found a total of 52 mummies, which they dated to the Ptolemaic era, as part of the discovery.

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“These findings provide new insights into the religious practices and funerary traditions of the Ptolemaic era in Al-Bahnasa,” said Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, according to Ahram. Finding gold within ancient tombs has become increasingly rare in modern times, thanks to centuries of grave robbers nabbing anything considered monetarily valuable from tombs and ruins.

The archaeologists buoyed their discovery of the tongues and fingernails with other, more typical discoveries, including a scarab positioned over the heart of one mummy—though, unique about this find was that the scarab was folded into the mummy wrappings.

The joint mission between Barcelona University and the Institute of the Ancient Near East in Germany uncovered the never-before-seen tomb that featured dozens of mummies side-by-side, likely indicating a communal burial. The team first found a rectangular stone burial shaft, but it opened to a main hall with three burial chambers where the mummies were arranged, said Esther Pons Mellado, co-leader of the team. In all, the 52 mummies from the Ptolemaic era were found as part of a larger collection of roughly 300 mummies.

The golden adornments were often decorative as well, tied to depictions of a variety of deities. “These vibrant scenes offer an unprecedented glimpse into the region’s ancient funerary art,” Maite Mascourt, co-leader, said.

The artistry didn’t stop with the mummies, as the team reported that the tomb includes plenty of colorful artwork, often showing local families in the presence of gods. The ceiling features the sky goddess Nut amidst stars and boats ferrying other gods.

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