Gali Puluhan Mumi, Arkeolog Temukan Sosok dengan Lidah Berwarna Emas

Digging Up Dozens of Mummies, Archaeologists Discover a Figure with a Golden-Colored Tongue

The archaeologists have discovered a number of ancient tombs with dozens of mummies, including some equipped with golden tongues. Researchers made the findings during excavations in the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus, a vast archaeological site located about 100 miles southwest of Cairo, near the Al-Bahnasa region in the Minya Governorate.

Oxyrhynchus became "very important" during the Greco-Roman period of ancient Egypt, which lasted for hundreds of years from the late 4th century BC to the 7th century AD, as revealed by Esther Pons Mellado and Maite Mascort, co-directors of the Spanish archaeological mission at the site, to Newsweek.

"Oxyrhynchus is the second city in Egypt after Alexandria. There is a significant business and cultural relationship between these two cities," as expressed by them.

Period Greco Roman

The Greco-Roman period began with the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great—then ruled by the Persians—in 332 BC. An ancient Greek state known as the Ptolemaic Kingdom was then established in 305 BC, which ruled Egypt until 30 BC when the territory was conquered by the Romans.

"Divided into West and East"

The translated text while preserving the HTML tags is as follows: "The region became a province of the Roman Empire, which eventually divided into the western and eastern parts—with Egypt included in the latter. The Roman period ended around 641 AD when Arab forces conquered Egypt."

Gali Puluhan Mumi, Arkeolog Temukan Sosok dengan Lidah Berwarna Emas

The latest excavation in Oxyrhynchus was conducted in November and December 2023. During this investigation, Pons Mellado, Mascort, and their colleagues discovered several tombs from the Greco-Roman era, as well as human remains and artifacts.

The discovery involves two tombs dating back to the Roman period, built with limestone blocks. Inside these tombs, archaeologists found over 20 mummified individuals wrapped in colorful cloth, as well as papyrus with Greek texts and clay seals with Egyptian iconography.

Two of the mummies were found to have pieces of gold that were shaped into the form of a human tongue and placed in the location of their original tongues. Such gold tongues had previously been found in Oxyrhynchus, and at other archaeological sites in Egypt.
"Until now, we have discovered 16 golden tongues in Oxyrhynchus,"

The translation of the given 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving any HTML tags is: "words Pons Mellado and Mascort."

Experts believe that ancient Egyptians may have placed gold tongues on some human remains to allow the spirits of the deceased to communicate with Osiris (the god of the underworld) and help them navigate the afterlife. "Egyptians placed gold tongues on the tongue to restore the vital functions of the dead and also to keep the body intact in the afterlife. For Egyptians, gold is the flesh of the gods," said Pons Mellado and Mascort.

"Three Hypogeums"

Apart from the Roman-era tombs, archaeologists also discovered three "hypogeums" or underground tombs dating back to the Ptolemaic period, which were excavated beneath natural rock. Inside these hypogeums, researchers found several more mummies wrapped in colorful cloth, a number of anthropomorphic stone sarcophagi (some of which were covered), and various terracotta statues depicting the goddess Isis-Aphrodite, among other artifacts.

This is a translation of the provided 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving any HTML tags: "Goddess Dewi is a form of the Egyptian goddess Isis combined with the fertility aspect associated with the Greco-Roman goddess Aphrodite."

"In one of the hypogeums, the team also discovered many colorful limestone blocks with decorations, including images of humans, snakes, doves, and plants."

"All of these findings are very important for the history of the Oxyrhynchus cemetery world,"

"revealed Pons Mellado and Mascort."

"This is the first time we have discovered an Oxyrhynchus terracotta with an image of Isis-Aphrodite, and the first time this type of artifact has appeared in this central Egyptian region. The limestone block with decoration [is also very significant]."

Limestone blocks, a new discovery in Oxyrhynchus, appear to be from a specific type of construction, although the nature of its structure is unclear.

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