Mummified Captain Found Drifting at Sea
The mummified remains of a man missing for seven years have been found adrift at sea off the coast of the Philippines.
Tag Archive for: mummified
Mummified Remains of Bishop Peder Winstrup Present New Mystery
The well-preserved remains of bishop Peder Winstrup prove to be a unique time capsule from the 17th century.
Chinchorro Mummies Turning Into ‘Black Ooze’
Climate change is putting the Chinchorro mummies of ancient Chile at risk of rapid decomposition that will turn them into a black ooze.
The world’s oldest mummies, made by the Chinchorro people as early as 7,000 years ago in what is now northern Chile and southern Peru, are at risk of rapid decomposition. Scientists are warning that due to climate change and rising humidity levels, flourishing microbes are threatening to reduce the ancient remains into nothing more than a “black ooze.”
The University of Tarapaca’s archeological museum in Arica, northern Chile is already seeing the effects on some of its 120 Chinchorro mummies.
via CNN
While the earliest known Egyptian mummy dates to around 3000 BC, it is believed that the Chinchorro mummies appeared around 5000 BC. The process involved removing the organs and replacing them with natural fibers and ash. The flesh was removed and replaced with clay, and a clay mask was put over the face before wrapping the bodies in reeds to dry.
The Chinchorro culture is notable in the fact that mummification was performed on all members of society, rather than restricting the practice to the elite. They were the only people preserving their dead among the other cultures in the area.
Naturally mummified remains were discovered along the arid Atacama desert coast dating to around 7000 BC.
Scan Reveals Mummified Monk Inside 1,000-Year-Old Buddha Statue
CT scan reveals the mummified remains of a monk preserved inside a 1,000-year-old statue of Buddha.
London Cotton to Gold Exhibit Displays Cursed Peruvian Mummy
An 800-year-old haunted Peruvian mummy is currently on display in London for the Cotton to Gold exhibit, which showcases the extraordinary treasures of 19th century Lancashire cotton magnates.
Mummy of an Incan Nobleman from Chaplanca, Peru, 12th Century
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cotton was booming in Lancashire. Industrialists and entrepreneurs were pouring their fortunes into priceless relics, art and oddities that ended up in the collections of local museums.
Many of these items can currently be seen on display as part of the Winter Exhibition at Two Temple Place in London called Cotton to Gold. The exhibit includes rare Roman coins, priceless medieval manuscripts, JMW Turner watercolours, Tiffany glass, Japanese prints, Byzantine icons, ivory sculptures, stuffed birds, preserved beetles and…a Peruvian mummy.
An electrical engineer by the name of William T Taylor unearthed the mummy, a 12th century Peruvian nobleman, during his travels in 1913. In his llama fur-bound diary, Taylor details the perilous journey into the dark, bat-and-bone-filled cave in the Andes to extract the mummy, crate it and send it to Towneley Hall.
It is there that the supposedly haunted remains still normally reside, tucked away in a cardboard box. It is rumored that there is bloodshed every time the mummy is moved.
Due to budget cuts, many of these extraordinary items are rarely ever seen anymore. Curators of Cotton to Gold hope to renew interest in them, and save the languishing institutions that house them. Find more info at www.twotempleplace.org
via The Guardian
