Mummy with golden tongue found in Egypt

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Archaeologists digging at an ancient Egyptian site called Taposiris Magna, in western Alexandria, unearthed 16 burial sites in tombs cut into rock, with one containing a mummy bearing a tongue made of gold.

The team speculates that after the person's tongue was removed during embalming, it was replaced with the golden object so the deceased could speak to Osiris in the afterlife.

Osiris is the Egyptian "Lord of the Underworld" and judge of the dead — one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.

RUNDOWN SHOWS:
1. Map of region, zoom to site, site map, 3D image of temple on site map
2. Zoom to temple, show dig site today, scientists digging
3. Mummy with golden tongue shining, human cowering before Osiris in underworld
4. Zoom in to Osiris 3D image, rotate around, scientists walking down steps to tomb
5. Ghost with golden tongue, walking scared in underworld, Osiris appears, denies entry
6. Ghost speaks w golden tongue, Osiris listens, nods head as he listens, lets ghost pass

VOICEOVER (in English):
The New York Times reports that archaeologists digging at an ancient Egyptian site called Taposiris Magna, in western Alexandria, unearthed 16 burial sites in tombs cut into rock, with one containing a mummy bearing a tongue made of gold.

The team speculates that after the person's tongue was removed during embalming, it was replaced with the golden object so the deceased could speak to Osiris in the afterlife.

Osiris is the Egyptian "Lord of the Underworld" and judge of the dead — one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.

The scientists estimate the mummy to be around 2,000 years old, which would place it in the time long after the time of the pyramids, and in the time of the Greek and Roman empires.

According to egyptologists, if individuals encountered Osiris, god of the underworld, in his domain, they would have needed a way to communicate with the deity.

The team is unsure whether the mummy had a speech impediment in life and why exactly the artificial tongue was made out of gold.

SOURCES: NY Times, Smithsonian, Business Insider, CNN

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