Sure, here’s the rephrased version of the text:
The discovery of two new mummies in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, brings the total count of mummies with golden tongues found at the site to 16, according to archaeologists.
Archaeologists working in Egypt have found two mummies equipped with golden tongues at the ancient settlement of Oxyrhynchus. This discovery increases the overall number of golden tongues found at the site to 16, as reported by the archaeologists leading the excavation, Esther Pons Mellado and Maite Mascort.
During the Roman era, between 29 B.C. and A.D. 641, ancient Egyptians placed golden tongues inside the mouths of certain mummies. This practice was believed to enable the deceased to communicate in the afterlife. Esther Pons Mellado and Maite Mascort explained via email to Live Science that the ancient Egyptians regarded gold as the “flesh of the gods.” Mummies with golden tongues were thought to possess the ability to converse with Osiris, the god of the afterlife, in the underworld.
In 2021, the same archaeological team discovered three golden tongues at Oxyrhynchus, contributing to the total count of golden tongues unearthed in the ancient settlement over the years.
The mummies containing the golden tongues were found within two tombs dating back to the Roman period. These tombs also contained additional mummies, as well as papyri inscribed with Greek writing and mud seals adorned with Egyptian iconography, according to Pons Mellado and Mascort.
Furthermore, in 2023, the team uncovered three large underground burial chambers known as hypogea, dating back to the Ptolemaic period (304 to 30 B.C.). Within these hypogea, the team discovered a total of nine stone sarcophagi adorned with anthropomorphic designs. Two sarcophagi remained sealed and untouched for millennia, indicating that they had not been looted over time, as noted by Pons Mellado and Mascort.
In total, the excavation yielded over 30 mummies wrapped in colorful cartonnage and several terra-cotta figurines depicting Isis Aphrodite, a deity blending aspects of Isis, an Egyptian goddess associated with healing and magic, and Aphrodite, a Greek goddess linked with beauty.
“This is the first time we’ve discovered terracotta artifacts depicting Isis-Aphrodite in Oxyrhynchus, and it’s also the first time such pieces have been found in this region of Middle Egypt,” Pons Mellado informed Live Science via email.
Although the identities of the deceased individuals remain unknown, they were likely prominent figures in Oxyrhynchus society, given their ability to afford mummification and, in some cases, burial alongside golden tongues.
