Mummy with a Gold Tongue found in Egypt

The Gold Tongued Mummy was discovered at an Egyptian temple complex called Taposiris Magna along with 15 other burials , the burials are believed to date back around 2,000 years and are likely from the reign of Cleopatra VII. it's thought the Gold tongued Mummy was given to tongue so they would be able to talk to the God Osiris in the afterlife.

The other 15 burials also date back around 2,000 years and contain remarkable treasure. In one, a female mummy is wearing a death mask that covers much of her body and depicts her with a headdress while smiling.

Two of the mummies were found with the remains of scrolls, which scholars are currently analyzing and deciphering. The plastered layers, or cartonnage, encasing one of these mummies has golden decorations of Osiris, the statement said.

The researchers also found several statues that depict the people who were buried at the site; the statues are so well preserved, you can still make out the individual’s hairstyles and headdresses, the statement said. The statues give the people a formal look, with no smiles on their faces.
www.livescience.com...

Jesus Christ, check out the mouth on that thing. You could fit a two litre soda bottle in there.


Bet she was popular. As a leader I mean.

a reply to: lakenheath24
We are not told that the one in the picture is a female. I suggest that the apparent size of the mouth is the result of the skin and teeth disappearing and the bones falling apart a little.

Not a lot of info on it.
Like did they just coat the real tongue, at death? (which means it would be hollow) Did they just fashion a tongue after death? God forbidden they did this while still alive?

Interesting anyway.

You Sir, are a killjoy.

I was thinking she looked like Carley Simon, and I shall not be swayed.

a reply to: DISRAELI

Undoubtedly a used camel salesman.

Gotta love the ancient Egyptians. Remarkable builders and engineers, thousands of years ahead of their time (or so we understand). With good taste in makeup.

But with some pretty weird stuff too, including this.

originally posted by: Nickn3
Undoubtedly a used camel salesman.

I can't say why I thought 'she' was buried with a golden tongue. And, I don't even have to check the T&Cs.

a reply to: gortex

Some cultures and I believe the Egyptians may have been one would often create a prosthetic not only for the living but also for the deceased to take into the afterlife with them.

Likely this person was high status or at least fairly well to do as the use of gold for that tongue suggests such.

Still we are looking at the remains of a human being no different to people alive today a fully modern human being that IF they had children given the international nature of the Roman empire and the trade links to Egypt of two Millenia ago could very well be the ancestor of people alive today.

Though judging by the teeth this person was non too old perhaps as young as there twenty's or thirty's.

The brow ridges are small so maybe a female but that is a strong looking lower jaw so maybe a man, the only way to be certain with bones other than the pelvis (which is also not always a true indicator) would be a genetic analysis, those well preserved molars would be a good place to obtain such genetic material for analysis for.

Now I know archaeology has to be done but given how we want the remains of those we love to be respected it always seems profane to me that they wont let these people rest in peace and very disrespectful of the people they once were, admittedly the Egyptians were not the kindest but they were also very far from the cruellest folks of ancient times.

While they had banned Cannibalism and even human sacrifice perhaps thousands of years before the ancestors of most of Europe were still burning virgins on wicker men surrounded by other captives and animal's or eating there enemy's hearts believing it would give them here strength or drinking out of there skull's using them as cup's (compared to that and despite there industrial slavery the Romans were the good guy's especially for getting rid of the baby sacrificing Carthaginian's).

So was this a prosthetic for someone that had lost there tongue in life, a ceremonial blessed tongue just popped into there mouth as some kind of cult ritual device or just bling.

a reply to: gortex

I think the person has/had a gold tongue because the gold was there to fight some sort of infection. Cool find, Gortex! Thanks for sharing!

a reply to: lostbook

Great suggestion, silver also had Anti bac property's but here is a quick first result research article on gold anti bacterial property's.
www.hindawi.com...

a reply to: LABTECH767
no brownish pigmentation on that lapper is there ?

A bit more of an insight

A golden tongue would not have been uncommon in elite burials during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, said Lorelei H. Corcoran, the director of the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology at the University of Memphis.

“Within an Egyptian funerary context, its reference is to Spell 158 of the Book of the Dead, which ensures that the deceased has the ability to breathe and speak, as well as to eat and drink, in the afterlife,” Dr. Corcoran added. “It may be conflated with the Greek funerary practice of placing a coin on or in the mouth of the deceased as payment for the ferryman, Charon, who transported the deceased across the River Styx to the Underworld.”

www.nytimes.com...