mummification

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Fire at Dublin Church 'Disastrous for History'

Remains of a 'Crusader' mummy have been destroyed, as have other centuries-old remains

(Newser) - Centuries-old mummified remains, including those of a Crusader , are thought to have been destroyed in a fire deliberately set Tuesday at a historic Dublin church. A man was arrested and charged with an offense under the Criminal Damage Act, per the BBC . He allegedly broke into the the crypt beneath...

It's the First Study to Examine Sicily's Child Mummies

Researchers to examine 41 'tiny dolls' mummified in Sicily's Capuchin Catacombs

(Newser) - The Capuchin Catacombs in Sicily, Italy, are famous for their nearly 1,300 mummified corpses on display to the public. Now researchers plan to conduct the first-ever study devoted to a subset of those mummies—the children. Specifically, researchers from Staffordshire University in the UK will examine 41 mummified children,...

Mummy That Escaped Others' Fate Gives Up Secrets

Amenhotep I was never unwrapped, unlike other pharaohs found in 19th, 20th centuries

(Newser) - Amenhotep I ruled Egypt from 1525 to 1504 BC, and his mummy managed to escape the fate of many others: Though it was discovered in 1881, it was never unwrapped in modern times, with a press release saying it's the only royal mummy found in the 19th and 20th...

Alleged Cult Leader Dies, Followers Apparently Can't Part With Her

7 members of Love Has Won religious group kept mummified remains of Amy Carlson in home

(Newser) - Police say a man returned to his rural Colorado home last week to find a mummified woman, who "appeared to be set up in some type of shrine." The face, with missing eyes, was caked in glittery makeup, and the body was wrapped in a sleeping bag and...

How to Make a Mummy: Oldest Manual Yet Is Found

It dates back to Egypt from around 3.5K years ago

(Newser) - A doctoral student in Denmark has uncovered the oldest instruction manual on mummification to date. Sofie Schiodt of the University of Copenhagen deciphered a papyrus from ancient Egypt that goes back about 3,500 years, reports CNET . The papyrus is a medical text of sorts, and the section on embalming...

'Incredible' Finds on Wolf Pup That Died 57K Years Ago

How this mummified Ice Age pup died, her last meal, and more

(Newser) - We now know a lot more about the 57,000-year-old wolf pup who still looks cute enough to pet . The mummified gray wolf discovered in Canada's Yukon territory in 2016 is the subject of a new study, revealing the female pup's internal organs are as well-preserved as her...

Wolf Pup Died 50K Years Ago, Still 'So Cute'

Wolf, caribou found in Canada provide some of the world's oldest mummified soft tissue

(Newser) - "It's so cute" is not a typical reaction upon finding a 50,000-year-old dead animal, yet it's hard to argue with paleontologist Grant Zazula's assessment. With pristine muscle, skin, and fur, the complete mummified wolf pup, believed to have died around eight weeks old, looks as...

Family Shocked to Learn They Have Mummy in Their Garage

They say landlord told them to stay out of the garage, so they did

(Newser) - A prospective homebuyer was surely shocked Thursday to discover a garage belonging to one Detroit home was more like an Egyptian tomb. The Detroit Free Press reports the man was inspecting the garage of a home he was considering buying when he found a body in the backseat of a...

Adventurer's Mummified Body Found Sitting at Yacht Desk

Manfred Fritz Bajorat's death remains a mystery

(Newser) - Fishermen spotted a yacht with a broken mast drifting near the Philippines on Feb. 26 and discovered the owner inside, but the story doesn't have a happy ending. Manfred Fritz Bajorat, 59, was slumped beside the ship's radio telephone, long dead and apparently mummified by the ocean's...

Mummified Remains Found in Indiana

The head and torso could be 2K years old

(Newser) - Workers exploring the site of an intended quarry in rural Indiana stumbled upon a mummified body that experts say could be anywhere from 500 to 2,000 years old, the Times of Northwest Indiana reports. "They could distinguish a head and a torso," says a local sheriff. "...

Researchers Mummify a Leg With Ancient Instructions

Though the Egyptians got the job done much faster

(Newser) - It's one thing to say that ancient Egyptians had a masterful technique for turning corpses into mummies and another to prove it. But researchers in Switzerland appear to have accomplished just that by mummifying a human leg with those ancient methods. Researchers treated the leg (it came from a...

Man's Body Found in Ancient Buddha Statue

Dutch experts say it's the Buddhist master Liuquan

(Newser) - Look inside a 1,000-year-old Chinese Buddha statue, and what do you find? Why, a mummified body, of course. At least that's what Dutch researchers saw when performing a CT scan on a statue shown last year in the Netherlands at Drents Museum, Discover reports. The body is believed...

Buddhists: Mummified Monk Is Just in Trance

Lama found in lotus position may not be dead, experts suggest

(Newser) - The 200-year-old Buddhist monk found still seated in the lotus position is not dead, but is rather in a rare spiritual state known as tukdam, Buddhism experts suggest. Dr. Barry Kerzin, a famous fellow monk who is also a physician to the Dalai Lama, tells the Siberian Times that monks...

5 Bizarre Ways to Immortalize Yourself

'Cremation Solutions' can make an urn resembling your head

(Newser) - Aren't sure your accomplishments will inspire a life-size statue in the local square? Consider Cracked 's list of creepy ways to immortalize yourself:
  • An Urn Resembling Your Head. Using 3-D imaging, Cremation Solutions can mold one in your likeness for only $2,600. Don't like your own
...

136 Years Later, French Sending Maori Head Home

Rouen Museum displayed mummy for 136 years

(Newser) - A mummified Maori head is finally going home, after 136 years on display at a French museum, reports AP . The Rouen Museum, which has little information about how it acquired the head from a mysterious Parisian in 1875, had agreed to return its head in 2007, but was blocked by...

How Did Ex-Playmate Turn Into a Mummy?

Arid climate, lack of moisture all helped

(Newser) - How did Yvette Vickers, former Playboy playmate and cult horror film star, turn into a real-life mummy ? After all, she didn't have anyone to wrap her in linen bandages. But mummification does not actually refer to the process undertaken by ancient Egyptians—it refers to the effect that...

Ex-Playmate Found in Home, Mummified

Yvette Vickers had apparently been dead for nearly a year

(Newser) - Yvette Vickers, a former Playboy playmate and B-movie star, was found dead in her Los Angeles home last week, the Times reports. A neighbor, concerned when she noticed yellowing letters and cobwebs collecting in Vickers' mailbox, found the 82-year-old woman's mummified body. Police say she could have been dead...

Millions of Puppy Mummies Unearthed in Egypt

They likely came from ancient puppy mills

(Newser) - When Egypt's ancient Dog Catacombs were fully excavated for the first time in 2010, scientists found about 8 million animal mummies. They're now examining the 2,500-year-old remains, and new research shows that most of the mummies are dogs—many just hours old when mummified. They were likely the product...

Woman Drove With Corpse in Front Seat for Months

A mummified corpse, no less

(Newser) - A California woman apparently befriended a homeless woman, allowed the woman to sleep in her car, and then continued to drive the car—for months—after the homeless woman died. Police don’t suspect foul play, but are not sure why the woman didn’t report the death—which could...

UK TV Show Wants to Mummify You

Production company seeks dying volunteer to demonstrate process

(Newser) - Giving new meaning to the term, "that's a wrap," a British TV company would like to film a terminally ill volunteer for a few months before they die—and then mummify them using techniques a scientist says are the same as those used in ancient Egypt. “We...

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