You've probably all watched horror films about revived mummies attacking people. These sinister dead have always captured the human imagination. However, in reality, mummies do not carry anything terrible, representing incredible archaeological value. In this issue you will find 13 real mummies that have survived to this day and are among the most significant archaeological finds of our time.

A mummy is the body of a dead creature specially treated with a chemical substance, in which the process of tissue decomposition is slowed down. Mummies are stored for hundreds and even thousands of years, becoming a “window” into the ancient world. On the one hand, mummies look creepy, some people get goosebumps just looking at these wrinkled bodies, but on the other hand, they are of incredible historical value, containing interesting information about the life of the ancient world, customs, health and diet of our ancestors .

1. Screaming mummy from the Guanajuato Museum

The Guanajuato Mummies Museum in Mexico is one of the strangest and most terrible in the world, with 111 mummies collected here, which are the naturally preserved mummified bodies of people, most of whom died in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century and were buried in the local cemetery " Pantheon of St. Paula.

The museum's exhibits were exhumed between 1865 and 1958, when a law was in force requiring relatives to pay a tax to have the bodies of their loved ones in the cemetery. If the tax was not paid on time, the relatives lost the right to the burial site and the dead bodies were removed from the stone tombs. As it turned out, some of them were naturally mummified, and they were kept in a special building at the cemetery. Distorted facial expressions on some mummies indicate they were buried alive.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, these mummies began to attract tourists, and cemetery workers began to charge a fee for visiting the premises where they were kept. The official date of establishment of the Museum of Mummies in Guanajuato is 1969, when mummies were exhibited in glass shelves. Now the museum is visited annually by hundreds of thousands of tourists.

2. Mummy of a boy from Greenland (Kilakitsoq town)

Near the Greenlandic settlement of Qilakitsoq, located on the western coast of the largest island in the world, an entire family was discovered in 1972, mummified by low temperatures. Nine perfectly preserved bodies of the ancestors of the Eskimos, who died in Greenland at a time when the Middle Ages reigned in Europe, aroused keen interest of scientists, but one of them became famous throughout the world and beyond the scientific framework.

Belonging to a one-year-old child (as anthropologists found, who suffered from Down syndrome), it, more like some kind of doll, makes an indelible impression on visitors to the National Museum of Greenland in Nuuk.

3. Two-year-old Rosalia Lombardo

The Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Italy, is an eerie place, a necropolis that attracts tourists from all over the world with many mummified bodies in varying states of preservation. But the symbol of this place is the baby face of Rosalia Lombardo, a two-year-old girl who died of pneumonia in 1920. Her father, unable to cope with grief, turned to the famous physician Alfredo Salafia with a request to preserve his daughter’s body.

Now it makes the hair on the head of all visitors to the dungeons of Palermo, without exception, move - amazingly preserved, peaceful and so alive that it seems as if Rosalia only dozed off briefly, it makes an indelible impression.

4. Juanita from the Peruvian Andes

Either still a girl, or already a girl (the age of death is said to be from 11 to 15 years), named Juanita, gained worldwide fame, being included in the ranking of the best scientific discoveries according to Time magazine due to its preservation and eerie history, which after the discovery of the mummy in the ancient scientists told about the Inca settlement in the Peruvian Andes in 1995. Sacrificed to the gods in the 15th century, it has survived to this day in almost perfect condition thanks to the ice of the Andean peaks.

As part of the exhibition of the Museum of Andean Sanctuaries in the city of Arequipa, the mummy often goes on tour, exhibited, for example, at the headquarters of the National Geographic Society in Washington or at many venues in the Land of the Rising Sun, which is generally distinguished by a strange love for mummified bodies.

5. Knight Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz, Germany

This German knight lived from 1651 to 1702. After his death, his body turned into a mummy naturally and is now on display for everyone to see.

According to legend, the knight Kalbutz was a great fan of taking advantage of the “right of the first night.” The loving Christian had 11 of his own children and about three dozen bastards. In July 1690, he declared his “right of the first night” regarding the young bride of a shepherd from the town of Buckwitz, but the girl refused him, after which the knight killed her newly-made husband. Taken into custody, he swore before the judges that he was not guilty, otherwise “after death his body will not crumble into dust.”

Since Kalbutz was an aristocrat, his word of honor was enough to get him acquitted and released. The knight died in 1702 at the age of 52 and was buried in the von Kalbutze family tomb. In 1783, the last representative of this dynasty died, and in 1794, restoration work was started in the local church, during which the tomb was opened in order to rebury all the dead of the von Kalbutz family in a regular cemetery. It turned out that all of them, except Christian Friedrich, had decayed. The latter turned into a mummy, which proved the fact that the loving knight was still an oathbreaker.

The mummy shown in the photo belongs to Pharaoh Ramses II (Ramses the Great), who died in 1213 BC. e. and is one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs. It is believed that he was the ruler of Egypt during the campaign of Moses. One of the distinctive features of this mummy is the presence of red hair, symbolizing the connection with the god Set, the patron of royal power.

In 1974, Egyptologists discovered that the mummy of Pharaoh Ramses II was rapidly deteriorating. It was decided to immediately fly it to France for examination and restoration, for which the mummies were issued a modern Egyptian passport, and in the “occupation” column they wrote “king (deceased).” At the Paris airport, the mummy was greeted with all the military honors due to the visit of the head of state.

Mummy of a girl aged 18-19, buried in Denmark in 1300 BC. e. The deceased was a tall, slender girl with long blond hair styled in an intricate updo, somewhat reminiscent of a 1960s babette. Her expensive clothes and jewelry suggest that she belonged to a family of the local elite.

The girl was buried in an oak coffin lined with herbs, so her body and clothes were surprisingly well preserved. The preservation would have been even better if the layer of soil above the grave had not been damaged several years before this mummy was discovered.

Similaun Man, who was about 5,300 years old at the time of his discovery, making him the oldest European mummy, was nicknamed Ötzi by scientists. Discovered on September 19, 1991 by a couple of German tourists while walking in the Tyrolean Alps, who came across the perfectly preserved remains of an inhabitant of the Chalcolithic era thanks to natural ice mummification, it created a real sensation in the scientific world - nowhere in Europe have the bodies of our distant people been found perfectly preserved to this day ancestors

Now this tattooed mummy can be seen in the archaeological museum of Bolzano, Italy. Like many other mummies, Ötzi is allegedly shrouded in a curse: over the course of several years, under various circumstances, several people died, one way or another connected with the study of the Iceman.

The Girl from Yde (Dutch: Meisje van Yde) is the name given to the well-preserved body of a teenage girl discovered in a peat bog near the village of Yde in the Netherlands. This mummy was found on May 12, 1897. The body was wrapped in a woolen cape.

A woven wool noose was tied around the girl’s neck, indicating that she had been executed for some crime or had been sacrificed. There is a trace of a wound in the collarbone area. The skin was not affected by decomposition, which is typical for swamp bodies.

The results of radiocarbon dating carried out in 1992 showed that she died at about 16 years of age between 54 BC. e. and 128 AD e. The corpse's head was half shaved shortly before death. The preserved hair is long and has a reddish tint. But it should be noted that the hair of all corpses that fall into a swampy environment acquires a reddish color as a result of denaturalization of the coloring pigment under the influence of acids found in the swampy soil.

A computed tomography scan determined that during her lifetime she had a curvature of the spine. Further research led to the conclusion that the cause of this was most likely damage to the vertebrae by bone tuberculosis.

Rendswühren Man, who also belongs to the so-called swamp people, was found near the German city of Kiel in 1871. At the time of death, the man was between 40 and 50 years old, and examinations of the body showed that he died from a blow to the head.

The superbly preserved mummy of Seti I and the remains of the original wooden coffin were discovered in the Deir el-Bahri cache in 1881. Seti I ruled Egypt from 1290 to 1279. BC e. The mummy of this pharaoh was buried in a specially prepared tomb.

Seti is a minor character in the science fiction films The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, where he is depicted as a pharaoh who falls victim to a plot by his high priest, Imhotep.

The mummy of this woman, nicknamed the Altai Princess, was found by archaeologists in 1993 on the Ukok plateau and is one of the most significant discoveries in archeology of the late 20th century. Researchers believe that the burial was made in the 5th-3rd centuries BC and dates back to the period of the Pazyryk culture of Altai.

During the excavations, archaeologists discovered that the deck in which the body of the buried woman was placed was filled with ice. That is why the woman’s mummy is well preserved. The burial was walled up in a layer of ice. This aroused great interest among archaeologists, since very ancient things could be well preserved in such conditions. In the chamber they found six horses with saddles and harnesses, as well as a wooden larch block nailed with bronze nails. The contents of the burial clearly indicated the nobility of the buried person.

The mummy lay on its side with its legs slightly pulled up. She had numerous tattoos on her arms. The mummies were wearing a silk shirt, a woolen skirt, felt socks, a fur coat and a wig. All these clothes were made of very high quality and indicate the high status of the buried. She died at a young age (about 25 years old) and belonged to the elite of Pazyryk society.

This is the famous mummy of a 14-15 year old girl who was sacrificed by the Incas more than 500 years ago. It was discovered in 1999 on the slope of the Nevado Sabancaya volcano. Next to this mummy, several more children's bodies were discovered, also mummified. Researchers suggest that these children were chosen among others due to their beauty, after which they walked many hundreds of kilometers across the country, were specially prepared and sacrificed to the gods at the top of the volcano.

Particularly exciting is the impeccable art of mummification, which was mastered by admirers of the cult of the sacred Amon Ra. The ancient Egyptians were radically different from other peoples in their worship of death and its elevation to a cult. Archaeologists are constantly finding new burials of mummies, trying to study them with the help of computer equipment, because fragile remains turn to dust from contact with the sun's rays. Although no matter how much research is carried out, the mysteries of antiquity become more and more numerous.

Preparing for the afterlife

According to the laws of modernity, people try to live here and now, to take only the best for themselves. For the ancient Egyptians, all life was considered preparation for the main sacrament - death. Even weddings were not celebrated as grandly as funerals. The better the mummification is carried out, the more complete the deceased will be able to appear before the gods. If earthly existence is only a moment, then one should prepare for eternal life with the utmost care. The mummy had to be accompanied to the burial place with high-quality dishes, amulets, jewelry and figurines of gods. And so that the dead man would not forget his good deeds committed during his life, papyri were additionally placed in the funeral chamber, where all his good deeds were set out in detail. The walls of the chamber were also decorated with reliefs and paintings, although they were executed according to the strict rules of painting that existed in Egypt. A mask with wide open painted eyes, located in place of the mummy’s face, looked at all this splendor.

Mummification methods

Millennia succeeded each other, but under optimal conditions, the imperishable mummies of the pharaohs of Egypt and the nobility rested in huge tombs. Although even ordinary Egyptians could afford to preserve the remains with dignity. But only the priests reserved the honorable right to carry out embalming. This is associated with the legend of the god Anubis, who made a mummy from the body of the god Osiris to prepare him for eternal life in the afterlife.

The nobility paid for expensive mummification

Relatives of the deceased Egyptian turned to the embalmers, who offered a choice of one of the mummification methods based on the financial capabilities of the applicants. After completing the formalities, the priests began to work. Mummification in Ancient Egypt was an expensive pleasure. Therefore, the process took place differently for different segments of society.

How were Egyptian mummies made? First of all, the brain was removed with iron devices through the nostrils, and its remains were dissolved with special drugs that were injected into the skull. In Ancient Egypt, they did not know about the function of the brain, so they simply threw it away, although they tried to carefully preserve all other organs. After examining the left side of the deceased's abdomen, the chief scribe indicated the location for the incision. Using a sharp stone, the paraschist (or ripper) made an incision in the abdominal cavity in the designated area. One of the priests penetrated the cut with his hand to remove all the organs, while leaving the lungs and heart in place. It was believed that through the food organs contamination of the flesh, and subsequently the human soul, occurs. The removed entrails were washed with balsam and palm wine. The organs were under no circumstances thrown away, but were carefully immersed in vessels filled with special balms. Such vessels were called canopies; each mummy had four of them. The heads of the sons of Horus were depicted on the lids of the vessels.

Secrets of embalming

It was time for embalming. After washing the internal cavities of the deceased with wine, they carefully rubbed the inside with cinnamon, cedar oil, myrrh and similar embalming agents. Linen bandages were soaked in special balms, which were used to tampon the body inside and wrap it around the outside. A little later, embalmers learned to fill mummies with aromatic herbs infused with oils. After some time, the remaining oil was drained and the body began to dry to remove the liquid and avoid rotting. Drying lasted about 40 days. Now the priests filled the womb with incense and sewed up the hole, and the mummy was immersed in a concentrated solution of soda lye for 70 days. At the end of the period, the body was washed to begin the final process. They cut fine linen into long strips and wrapped it around the deceased, and the strips were fastened together with gum.

The desire for an afterlife among poor Egyptians

The poor could not afford to pay for such a labor-intensive process, so they agreed to cheaper mummification. In Ancient Egypt, cedar oil was injected into the abdominal cavity of the deceased, without making an incision to remove the entrails. After this procedure, the dead person was lowered into the lye for several days. After time, the infused oil, which has the property of dissolving the insides, was drained from the intestines. Soda lye is known to decompose meat, so subsequently the relatives of the deceased received a dried mummy consisting only of bones and skin. Although the poorest Egyptians could use an even cheaper method. It consisted of injecting radish juice into the abdominal cavity of the deceased and immersing the body in a solution of soda lye for 70 days.

The ruler in the afterlife has untold riches

In Ancient Egypt, they religiously adhered to traditions. It was believed that nobles after death should continue to live among their acquired wealth. A warrior will not be able to hunt after burial if he loses his weapon. The pharaoh will not take his high place among the gods if he appears at the court of Osiris without a supply of jewelry, delicious food and many golden figurines. Therefore, untold riches were stored in the tombs, and “black” archaeologists sought to find a secret passage to them.

To build impenetrable tombs, they came up with various traps and reliable locks that could be opened with special amulets. But all the efforts of the ancient rulers to preserve the treasures of the tombs were not crowned with success. Under the influence of human greed, many tombs were stolen, and spells and magic did not stop those who wanted to profit from the objects of ancient civilization.

Artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb

Only the tomb of the nineteen-year-old Pharaoh Tutankhamun, who reigned in 1332-1323 BC, has survived to this day almost completely intact. e. Its discoverers are two archeological enthusiasts, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, who revealed to the world the extraordinary luxury of the ancient tomb.

For several years, archaeologists tried to find the burial place of the young pharaoh, and finally, in 1923, luck smiled at them. Crowds of onlookers and journalists flocked to the small town of Luxor to convey essays and reports to all lovers of antiquity. The archaeologists carefully moved along the steps deeper into the hole in the rock, and ahead they saw a walled wall, behind which was the entrance to the tomb. After the passage was cleared, they moved along the corridor, but they had to spend some more time clearing the passage from the rubble. Time passed, and finally, again, scientists had to dismantle another walled up entrance. Carter's heart began to beat dully in his chest as he stuck his hand with the candle into the hole in the masonry. A warm stream of air escaped from the burial chamber, causing the candle flame to flutter in the draft. In the twilight, the outlines of the room gradually appeared, and the outlines of figurines of animals and statues made of gold, flickering in the dim light, were revealed to the eye.

Golden Splendor

Archaeologists experienced a real shock when they were able to enter the first room of the tomb. The pharaoh was equipped for his afterlife journey with stunning pomp, although they did not have time to build a more spacious tomb for him. There were magnificent beds decorated with gold plates, chairs richly inlaid with gems and ivory, vessels, shooting gloves, quivers for arrows, clothing and jewelry. Vessels with remains of food and dried wine were also preserved. In stone vessels, researchers discovered expensive incense that retained a strong aroma. Even after death, the royal person had to lead a full existence, continuing to anoint his body with fragrant substances.

As a sign of special respect for the deceased, their bodies were decorated with wreaths of seasonal flowers. It was in the tomb of Tutankhamun that scientists discovered a wreath of flowers that turned to dust when touched. A few leaves remained; they were dipped into lukewarm water to avoid destruction. After analysis, we were able to find out about the month of burial of the pharaoh - from mid-March to the end of April. In Egypt, at this time, cornflowers bloom and nightshade and mandrake, which served to make a wreath, ripen.

To move the pharaoh through the afterlife, several golden chariots were installed in the chamber. The first room was followed by a second, containing an equally large supply of precious objects.

Tutankhamun's mummy

Several arks were discovered in the burial chambers, stacked one inside the other like a nesting doll. It was necessary to open the sarcophagi to get to the royal mummy. The remains were in the coffin, but they were so filled with aromatic oils that they were firmly stuck to it. A golden mask covered the face and shoulders; it completely repeated the lifetime features of the young pharaoh. They also tried to remove the mask, although it was attached to the coffin under the influence of the resin. To make the pharaoh's coffin, a gold sheet up to 3.5 mm thick was used. During burial, the mummy of the Egyptian pharaoh was wrapped in several shrouds, and hands with a whip and a staff were sewn onto the topmost shroud. After the mummies were unwrapped, many more jewels were found, the description of which amounted to 101 groups.

A curse or a series of coincidences?

After the grand opening of Tutankhamun's tomb, a series of unexpected deaths of members of the expedition shook the public. A year later, Lord Carnarvon dies of pneumonia in a Cairo hotel. His death immediately became overgrown with unimaginable details and fantastic guesses. Some say a mosquito bite caused the death, while others say a razor wound caused blood poisoning. One way or another, for the next few years the concept of the “curse of the pharaohs” was discussed in the press. One after another, 22 members of the expedition, who were the first to arrive at the threshold of the famous tomb, suddenly died. English newspapermen fanned the sensation, and the public was not interested in any reasonable explanations.

Unenviable fate

Only the mummies of the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt have survived to this day in fairly good condition. After all, the fate of the remains of the poor Egyptians remained unenviable. During the Middle Ages, there were many recipes for healing potions made from ground mummies. There was also some barbarism: in the 19th century, the bandages of the ancient dead began to be used as paper, and the mummies themselves became fuel. But the remains of royalty remained almost untouched to become wordless witnesses to the former greatness of Ancient Egypt.

Preserved mummies of the pharaohs

One of the greatest conquerors was Pharaoh Seti I. His reign dates back to the era of the 19th dynasty. The great pharaoh pursued a tough policy and strengthened the borders of the kingdom to the territory where Syria is now located. He ruled wisely for 11 years, leaving a strong Egypt for his successor, Ramses II.

The European press was shocked by the discovery of the grave of Seti I in 1817. Now the mummy of Seti 1 is on display in the hall of the Cairo Egyptian Museum.

Diagnosing the diseases of an ancient ruler

The legendary pharaoh of antiquity was Ramses II. He lived to an old age and ruled Egypt for an estimated 67 years. His mummy was discovered in a cache among the rocks by scientists G. Maspero and E. Brugsch in 1881. In the Cairo Museum you can see the mummy of Ramses II. In 1974, museum staff sounded the alarm due to the destruction of the mummy. It was decided to urgently send her for a medical examination to Paris. I had to take care of an Egyptian passport for the dead king in order to cross the borders between states. During the research, Ramses was found to have wounds and fractures, as well as arthritis. After processing, the mummy was returned to the museum to preserve its greatness for future generations.

When it comes to mummies, many people first of all remember ancient Egypt, the pharaohs, whose bodies have survived to this day, and the Hollywood blockbuster “The Mummy.” But in fact, mummies are not only about Ancient Egypt and Hollywood. Our review contains little-known and sometimes simply incredible facts about mummies.

1. What is a mummy



A mummy is a human or animal body that has been preserved from decomposition by removing internal organs, treating it with soda (sodium carbonate decahydrate) and resin, and then wrapping it in bandages.

2. Mum means wax


The word "mummy" comes from the medieval Latin word "mumia", borrowed from the medieval Arabic "mūmiya" and from the Persian "mum" (wax), which meant an embalmed body, as well as a bitumen-based embalming agent.

3. Variety of mummies

Archaeologists have discovered many mummies of animals, including jackals, cats, baboons, horses, birds, gerbils, fish, snakes, crocodiles, hippos and even a lion.

4. Anubis


Some people wonder why so many jackal mummies have been found. The explanation for this is quite simple - the god of mummification was Anubis, the Egyptian god with the head of a jackal.

5. The art of mummification


The ancient Egyptians began making mummies around 3400 BC, but it took them almost eight hundred years to realize that if the internal organs were removed, the mummy would be preserved rather than rotting. Over time, mummification became a very complex and lengthy process that lasted up to seventy days.

6. Herodotus is the first person to describe mummification



The first person to write in great detail about the mummification process was the Greek historian Herodotus. This happened after he visited Egypt around 450 BC.

7. Chinchorro Tribe


Although mummies are almost exclusively associated with Egypt, the South American Chinchorro tribe were the first to make mummies. According to recent archaeological evidence, the oldest Chinchorro mummies date back to the seventh millennium BC, which is twice as old as the first Egyptian mummies.

8. X-ray of a mummy


The first modern scientific examinations of mummies began in 1901, conducted by English professors at the government school of medicine in Cairo. The first x-ray of a mummy was taken in 1903, when professors Grafton Elliott Smith and Howard Carter used the only x-ray machine in Cairo at the time to examine the mummy of Thutmose IV.

9. Classic


Not all mummies were wrapped in the same position. For example, the vast majority of pharaohs were positioned in a prone position with their arms crossed over their chest. This is the situation most often shown in films and popular media.

10. Osiris


According to Egyptian mythology, the god Osiris was the first mummy in history. However, his remains were not found.

11. Afterlife hospitality


It is for this reason that, after the mummy was all wrapped in bandages, it was covered with a special cloth with a painted image of Osiris. This was done so that the Egyptian god of the underworld would be kind and hospitable to the dead.

12. If only I had money


Many people mistakenly believe that only pharaohs were mummified. In reality, those who could afford it were mummified.

13. I’ll take everything I own with me.


The ancient Egyptians believed that items that were buried in a tomb along with a mummy would help the deceased in life after death. Thus, everything valuable to the deceased was buried with them. These included art, artifacts, treasures and jewelry.

14. Protection from thieves


There was also protection against thieves - ancient Egyptian myths warned that the tombs and their contents were under a curse that would strike all who entered them. It has been claimed that a number of archaeologists who discovered some of these burials suffered from total bad luck, and some even died under unusual circumstances.

However, these curses were unable to prevent many graves from being robbed and precious jewelry and other expensive items being stolen to accompany the mummies into the afterlife.

15. Dubious entertainment


Additionally, during the Victorian era, unwrapping mummies became a popular activity at parties. Hosts hosting a dinner party would buy a mummy, and guests could unwrap it during the party.

16. Essential medicinal component


In Victorian times, mummies were considered an essential ingredient in many medicines. Most eminent doctors assured their patients that mummies powder or ground mummies had amazing healing properties.

17. Ramesses III was afraid of reptiles


Ramesses III was afraid of reptiles. It was for this reason that his mummy was found wearing an amulet that was supposed to protect him from snakes in the afterlife.

18. Receptacle of intellect and emotions


The only organ that the ancient Egyptians left inside the mummy was the heart. At that time, the heart was considered the center of intellect and emotions - qualities that were needed by the dead in the afterlife.

19. Profitable business


Mummies were a very profitable business in ancient Egypt. In the process of preparing the mummy, many workers were used: from embalmers and surgeons to priests and scribes.

20. Average weight of a mummy

Modern sleeping bags are made wide at the shoulders and narrow at the legs, which makes the person lying inside look like a mummy. This is not just a coincidence, as their design was inspired by the way mummies were wrapped to be preserved for millennia.

Continuing the topic, we decided to remember about.


Mummies have always aroused increased interest among people and are unique and desirable finds of archaeologists. But it happens that a mummy is doubly valuable, and all because very unexpected things are found in it. In our review, there are “ten” unexpected “surprises” that mummies concealed within themselves.

1. Erect penis


Tutankhamun is known as the boy who became pharaoh at the age of ten. But not many people know that he was mummified with an erect penis. In addition, Tutankhamun's mummy has other anomalies. The young pharaoh's heart was missing, and his body and sarcophagus were covered in black liquid. Obviously, Tutankhamun did not die with an erection, but his penis was “set” at an angle of 90 degrees by the embalmers.

According to Salima Ikram of the American University in Cairo, there is a religious explanation for Tutankhamun's mummified erection. She suggested that this nuance was a deliberate attempt to make Tutankhamun look like Osiris, the god of the underworld (the erect penis is a symbol of Osiris giving new life).

2. Colon cancer


Colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer. It is primarily caused by an unhealthy lifestyle: lack of regular exercise, overeating and eating canned foods. Since these factors are associated with today's lifestyle, many people have assumed that colon cancer is a relatively recent disease.

However, a study of Hungarian mummies in the 17th and 18th centuries showed that people of past eras also suffered from this disease. The tissue samples used in the study were taken from 20 mummies that were discovered in sealed crypts in Vaca, Hungary. This archaeological discovery allowed people to know that colon cancer existed long before modern health factors emerged.

3. Earth


After an MRI scan of a 3,200-year-old Egyptian mummy, they found... earth inside its head. The researcher also discovered that the subject's brain remained intact during the mummification process. This has led scientists to speculate that man lived between the 16th and 11th centuries BC or during the New Kingdom. After this period, it became standard procedure to remove the brain during mummification.

After analyzing the shape of the skull of the mummy, who was named Hatason, it was assumed that she was a woman. Typically, experts use a mummy's pelvis to determine sex, but in this case the pelvis was destroyed. As for the land, this still remains a mystery, because a similar method of mummification has never been seen before in other Egyptian mummies.

4. Clogged Arteries


Atherosclerosis is a serious disease in which plaque builds up in the arteries, blocking them. This can lead to stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases. It is also the leading cause of death in first world countries.

It is assumed that to prevent atherosclerosis, people need to adapt to modern realities the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that their ancient ancestors led. Those. What is needed today is a lifestyle full of physical activity, as well as a diet rich in proteins and unsaturated fats. However, a study of 137 mummies showed that this assumption is erroneous.

Greg Thomas of the University of California, Irvine and his team performed MRI scans on more than 100 mummies from four different ancient groups of people: Peruvians, Egyptians, Aleuts and Anasazis. The scientists found that 34 percent, or 47 of the 137 mummies, had blocked arteries. Moreover, this disease was in such an advanced form as it is today.

5. Devices for extracting brains


About 3,500 years ago, a significant shift occurred in the Egyptian mummification process: embalmers began removing brains prior to mummification. They did this using primitive tools. Unfortunately, some of them were a little careless and sometimes left tools inside the skulls of their dead patients. In 2008, a team of scientists from Croatia performed an MRI on a 2,400-year-old female mummy.

Much to their surprise, a brain removal tool was found between the left parietal bone and the back of the mummy's skull. In fact, such cases are extremely rare, and to be more precise, they only occurred twice. A second brain removal tool was found inside the head of a 2,200-year-old mummy. The object was only 7 centimeters long and was made of organic material.

The researchers speculate that the instrument may have originally been larger, and that their find is only the tip and that the instrument itself broke during the mummification process. Since getting it out would be problematic, the embalmers simply decided to leave a piece of the instrument inside the skull.

6. Schistosoma Munson


Every year, 200 million people worldwide become ill with intestinal schistosomiasis, a disease that can damage the bladder, liver, lungs and intestines. The worms that cause this disease live in standing and running water, and they enter the human body through the skin.

Schistosoma Munson, the worm that causes the disease, was found in ancient Nubian mummies. Although schistosomiasis was thought to be a relatively modern disease, the mummy revealed that humanity has been suffering from it since ancient times.

7. Arsenic


For thousands of years, the ancient people of northern Chile were exposed to significant levels of arsenic. This was discovered after analyzing the hair of 45 Andean mummies that were discovered in the Atacama Desert. Arsenic is a tasteless, colorless, odorless substance that can be found in groundwater and polluted rivers.

Unfortunately for the ancient civilization, this poison was found in abundance in the area surrounding the Atacama Desert. Chronic exposure to this substance can lead to skin diseases, neurological problems, premature birth, cancer, and ultimately death.

After careful analysis, the researchers found that 31 percent of the mummies had blood arsenic levels of 2.6 micrograms per liter. Over time, the ancient inhabitants of northern Chile accumulated significant amounts of arsenic in their bodies, which caused them to suffer.

8. Prostate cancer


Thanks to high-resolution tomographs, scientists have been able to learn a lot about the diseases that plagued ancient civilizations. For example, a 2,250-year-old Egyptian mummy was diagnosed with prostate cancer thanks to this invaluable equipment.

The 2,700-year-old remains of a Scythian king were also found to have the disease, making the case believed to be the oldest known example of the disease. This discovery only proves once again that cancer is not such a new disease as was thought, but it has haunted humanity for many centuries.

9. Well-preserved brain


In August 2010, Russian scientists discovered a 39,000-year-old mammoth mummy. The mummified animal was found in Siberian permafrost. In addition to the fact that the mammoth's body was very well preserved, its brain was in excellent condition. In fact, this is the most intact mammoth brain known to science.

After studying Yuka, as the mummified animal was named, experts concluded that the mammoth died between the ages of six and nine years. Using tomographs, the researchers were able to find the underlying tissue component of the nervous system and study the animal's brain, which turned out to be very similar to modern elephants.

10. Antibiotic-resistant genes


The abuse of antibiotics is very common nowadays and is a huge problem. Its dangers are obvious, as overuse of antibiotics can lead to serious health problems.

For many years, it was believed that antibiotic resistance developed due to the overuse of these drugs. However, studies conducted on an 11th-century mummy found that "gene mutations responsible for antibiotic resistance occurred naturally and are not necessarily associated with overuse of antibiotics."

After analyzing the microbiome in the gut of a mummy woman who died between 18 and 23 years old and was discovered in Cusco, the capital of the ancient Inca Empire, researchers identified several antibiotic-resistant genes in her body. If she were alive today, most modern antibiotics would not be able to save her.

Continuing the topic, many of which are truly amazing.

Some people live even after death. Swamps, deserts, and permafrost present surprises to scientists and sometimes preserve bodies unchanged for many centuries. We will tell you about the most interesting finds that amaze not only with their appearance and age, but also with their tragic fates.

Loulan beauty 3800 years old

In the vicinity of the Tarim River and the Taklamakan Desert - in places where the Great Silk Road ran - over the past quarter century, archaeologists have found more than 300 mummies of white people. Tarim mummies are tall, have blond or red hair, and blue eyes, which is not typical for the Chinese.

According to different versions of scientists, these could be both Europeans and our ancestors from Southern Siberia - representatives of the Afanasyev and Andronovo cultures. The oldest mummy was perfectly preserved and was named Loulan Beauty: this young woman of model height (180 cm) with neat braids of flaxen hair lay in the sands for 3800 years.

It was found in the vicinity of Loulan in 1980, buried nearby was a 50-year-old man, two meters tall, and a three-month-old child with an ancient “bottle” made of a cow’s horn and a teat made from a sheep’s udder. Tamir mummies well preserved due to the arid desert climate and the presence of salts.

Princess Ukok 2500 years old

In 1993, Novosibirsk archaeologists exploring the Ak-Alakha mound on the Ukok plateau discovered the mummy of a girl about 25 years old. The body lay on its side, legs bent. The deceased's clothes were well preserved: a Chinese silk shirt, a woolen skirt, a fur coat and felt stockings.

The appearance of the mummy testified to the peculiar fashion of those times: a horsehair wig was put on his shaved head, his arms and shoulders were covered with numerous tattoos. In particular, on the left shoulder was depicted a fantastic deer with the beak of a griffin and the horns of a capricorn - a sacred Altai symbol.

All signs pointed to the burial belonging to the Scythian Pazyryk culture, widespread in Altai 2500 years ago. The local population demands to bury the girl, whom the Altaians call Ak-Kadyn (White Lady), and journalists call the Princess of Ukok.

They claim that the mummy guarded the “mouth of the earth” - the entrance to the underground kingdom, which now that it is in the Anokhin National Museum remains open, and it is for this reason that natural disasters have occurred in the Altai Mountains in the last two decades. According to the latest research by Siberian scientists, Princess Ukok died of breast cancer.

Tollund Man over 2300 years old

In 1950, residents of the Danish village of Tollund were extracting peat in a bog and at a depth of 2.5 m they discovered the corpse of a man with signs of violent death. The corpse looked fresh, and the Danes immediately reported it to the police. However, the police had already heard about the swamp people (the bodies of ancient people were repeatedly found on the peat bogs of Northern Europe) and turned to scientists.

Soon the Tollund Man (as he was later called) was taken in a wooden box to the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. The study revealed that this 40-year-old man, 162 cm tall, lived in the 4th century BC. e. and died from strangulation. Not only his head was perfectly preserved, but also his internal organs: liver, lungs, heart and brain.

Now the head of the mummy is on display in the Silkeborg city museum with the body of a mannequin (his own has not been preserved): stubble and tiny wrinkles can be seen on the face. This is the best-preserved man from the Iron Age: he looks as if he had not died, but fallen asleep. In total, more than 1,000 ancient people were discovered in the peat bogs of Europe.

Ice maiden 500 years

In 1999, on the border of Argentina and Chile, the body of a teenage girl from the Inca tribe was found in the ice of the Llullaillaco volcano at an altitude of 6706 m - she looked as if she had died a couple of weeks ago. Scientists have determined that this girl, 13–15 years old, who was called the Ice Maiden, was killed with a blunt blow to the head half a millennium ago, as a victim of a religious ritual.

Thanks to the low temperature, her body and hair were perfectly preserved, along with clothes and religious objects - bowls with food, figurines made of gold and silver, and an unusual headdress made of white feathers of an unknown bird were found nearby. The bodies of two more Inca victims were also discovered - a girl and a boy aged 6–7 years.

During the study, scientists found that children were prepared for the cult for a long time, fed with elite products (llama meat and maize), and stuffed with cocaine and alcohol. According to historians, the Incas chose the most beautiful children for rituals. Doctors diagnosed the Ice Maiden with the initial stage of tuberculosis. Mummies of Incan children are on display at the Museum of Highlands Archeology in Salta, Argentina.

Petrified miner about 360 years old

In 1719, Swedish miners discovered the body of their colleague deep in a mine in the city of Falun. The young man looked as if he had died recently, but none of the miners could identify him. A lot of onlookers came to look at the deceased, and in the end the corpse was identified: an elderly woman bitterly recognized him as her fiancé, Mats Israelsson, who had gone missing 42 years ago (!).

In the open air, the corpse became hard as stone - such properties were given to it by the vitriol that soaked the miner's body and clothes. The miners did not know what to do with the find: whether to consider it a mineral and give it to a museum, or bury it as a person. As a result, the Petrified Miner was put on display, but over time began to deteriorate and decompose due to the evaporation of vitriol.

In 1749, Mats Israelsson was buried in the church, but in the 1860s, during renovations, the miner was dug up again and shown to the public for another 70 years. It was only in 1930 that the petrified miner finally found peace in the church cemetery in Falun. The fate of the failed groom and his bride formed the basis of Hoffmann’s story “Falun Mines.”

Conqueror of the Arctic 189 years

In 1845, an expedition led by polar explorer John Franklin set out on two ships to the northern coast of Canada to explore the Northwest Passage, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

All 129 people disappeared without a trace. During search operations in 1850, three graves were discovered on Beechey Island. When they were finally opened and the ice was melted (this happened only in 1981), it turned out that the bodies were perfectly preserved due to permafrost conditions.

A photograph of one of the deceased - British fireman John Torrington, originally from Manchester - spread across all publications in the early 1980s and inspired James Taylor to write the song The Frozen Man. Scientists have determined that the fireman died of pneumonia aggravated by lead poisoning.

Sleeping Beauty 96 years old

Palermo in Sicily is home to one of the most famous mummies exhibitions - the Capuchin Catacombs. Since 1599, the Italian elite have been buried here: clergy, aristocracy, politicians. They rest in the form of skeletons, mummies and embalmed bodies - more than 8,000 dead in total. The last to be buried was the girl Rosalia Lombardo.

She died of pneumonia in 1920, seven days short of her second birthday. The grief-stricken father asked the famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia to preserve her body from decay. Almost a hundred years later, the girl, like a sleeping beauty, lies with her eyes slightly open in the chapel of St. Rosalia. Scientists recognize that this is one of the best embalming methods.