口の中に「黄金の舌」　２０００年前のミイラ発見　エジプト

【カイロＡＦＰ＝時事】エジプト観光・考古省は3日、北部アレクサンドリア近郊で、エジプトとドミニカの合同調査隊が口の中に舌の形をした黄金の護符が納められた約2000年前のミイラを発掘したと発表した。（写真はエジプト・アレクサンドリア西方のタップ・オシリス・マグナ神殿で発掘された、口の中に黄金の舌の形の護符が納められた約2000年前のミイラ。エジプト観光・考古省提供）
　同省によると調査団は、アレクサンドリア西方のタップ・オシリス・マグナ神殿で「岩に刻み込まれた１６基の墓」を発見した。この埋葬形式は、古代ギリシャ・ローマ時代に広く用いられていたという。
　墓の中には数体のミイラがあり、「保存状態は悪かった」が「金箔（きんぱく）の貼られた舌の形の護符」を持っていた。護符はミイラの口の中に納められ、死者が「死後の世界でも話せるように」との願いが込められているとみられる。
　合同調査隊は、女性の埋葬用マスクや黄金の冠、彫刻がほどこされた大理石のマスクなども発見したという。
　合同調査隊は数年前からアレクサンドリア西方でプトレマイオス朝最後の女王クレオパトラの墓を探している。ただ、考古学関係者の間では、この地域でクレオパトラの墓が見つかる可能性に疑問を呈する声もある。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/02/04-15:58）

An Egyptian-Dominican archaeological mission working near Alexandria has discovered mummies from around 2,000 years ago bearing golden-tongued amulets, the Egyptian authorities told AFP on Wednesday.
The mission discovered 16 tombs cut into the rock... in the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria in northern Egypt, the antiquities ministry said in a statement, adding that the burial technique was widespread in the Greek and Roman periods.
The tombs contained several mummies that were poorly preserved but bore gold-leafed amulets in the shape of a tongue.
The amulets were placed in the mouths of the dead to ensure they could speak in the afterlife, according to the ministry.
Two of the mummies were of particular interest to the researchers, mission chief Kathleen Martinez was quoted as saying in the statement.
One had bandages and parts of cardboard -- layers of glued, stuccoed and painted linen fabric that enveloped the mummy -- decorated with gilding with the effigy of Osiris, the Egyptian god of death and the underworld.
The second bore a crown decorated with horns and a cobra... as well as a necklace with a pendent in the form of a falcon's head, representing the god Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, according to the statement.
AFP was not able to immediately reach Martinez for comment on Wednesday.
The team also found a female burial mask, a golden diadem and eight sculpted marble masks, according to Khaled Abu al-Hamd, head of Alexandria Antiquities.
The mission has been working to the west of Alexandria for several years, searching for the tomb of the legendary Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra -- though doubts remain among archaeological circles about the likelihood of finding it in the area.
The Ptolemaic dynasty was of Greek origin and ruled Egypt between 323 and 30 BC.
It was the last pharaonic dynasty before Egypt came under Roman rule, and Cleopatra was its last sovereign.