Mummies with golden tongues discovered in Quesna

The thin gold tongue-plates were placed in the mouth to help the deceased transform into a divine being in the afterlife.

A number of poorly preserved Graeco- Roman Period mummies with golden tongues have been found in an ancient Quesna quarries cemetery, just north of Cairo, by an Egyptian mission working at the site.

above A golden tongue and other gold fragments that were placed on the deceased in the newly discovered burials at Quesna. left One of the burials at the Quesna quarries cemetery.
A golden tongue and other gold fragments that were placed on the deceased in the newly discovered burials at Quesna.

The thin gold tongue-plates were placed in the mouth to help the deceased transform into a divine being in the afterlife.

Other finds included necklaces, pottery, amulets, stone scarabs, and the remains of coffins including wooden fragments and copper nails.

One of the burials at the Quesna quarries cemetery.

The burials were discovered in a mud-brick tomb containing three burial chambers with vaulted ceilings.

The chambers had been used three times in the Ptolemaic and late Roman Periods.