While the ancient Egyptians may be the best known preservers of the dead, they certainly don't have a monopoly. Take a look at...
A clear casket sits in the Chapel of Saint Gildard in France. The occupant is one Bernadette Soubirous, the nun who had visions of healing spring at Lourdes.
After dying of tuberculosis in 1879, she was exhumed in 1909, 1919 and 1925 to see if she had decayed - a lack of rot can be an indication of sainthood in Catholicism. After the final exhumation she was deemed "incorrupt" and moved to her crystal casket.
Notable features of the body are the pale, lifelike hands and face, but this is a bit of a con by the church as they are actually wax overlays. The body has started to decay during its tenure as a saint, though curiously she seemed to not have decayed during the first exhumation in 1909. It could have been that the exhumation interfered with whatever process was keeping her preserved - saponification, perhaps.Mount Everest is a popular but risky destination for climbers - hundreds of bodies rest on the slopes. Many climbers stop at a natural shelter near the summit, an overhanging rock that also acts as a trail marker. For over a decade these climbers had to share the shelter with another occupant... the frozen body known as "Green Boots."
Green Boots may have been Tsewang Paljor, a member of a 1996 Indo-Tibetan expedition. The four-man team encountered terrible weather during the ascent but, not wanting to admit defeat, pushed on regardless. Near the end of the climb, three members disregarded the signal of deputy team-leader Harbhajan Singh to wait for better conditions. Seemingly they had been struck by "summit fever" or a desperate desire to reach the summit... with little regard for the risks.
They may or may not have reached the summit (their reports may not be accurate given the bad visibility combined with altitude sickness) but they were hit by a blizzard as they began their descent. A Japanese team may have passed the climbers during their own ascent the next day, but didn't render much aid. In their defense, thinking becomes impaired at high altitudes... and they may also have been unable to help in any meaningful way. Those three men died on the mountain, succumbing to the savage winds.
In 2014 Green Boots (and a number of other known bodies) went missing. It's thought that a Chinese group managing part of Everest's slopes relocated the bodies away from the trail... though they likely remain somewhere on the slopes.
The Ancient but Flexible Xin Zhui (or Lady Dai)One of the best preserved mummies in the world is Xin Zhui (Lady Dai) of China, a Han dynasty noble who died over 2,000 years ago - her tomb was discovered in 1968 at Mawangdui in Hunan while workers were installing an air-raid shelter.
Not only are the joints flexible, the organs remain intact and congealed type-a blood fills her veins. She retains eyelashes and nasal hair, with her fingers and toes in good enough condition to give prints. Researchers believe that her body was washed in wine (and possibly another unknown substance) that helped preserve her flesh and kill any microbes.
Researchers were able to autopsy the mummy, finding her to be overweight and diabetic - possibly a result of a lavish noble lifestyle. Apparently she died from a heart attack around age 50 shortly after eating a meal - her stomach and esophagus contained over 100 musk melon seeds, eaten in haste.
While most of the process went smoothly, the head didn't respond well to desiccation and the result was fairly... unappealing. A wax replica was fitted instead, while the real head sat between the feet of the ex-philosopher. The head was later displayed separately... and it became a target for pranks. One story even claims that students from Kings College London stole the head and ransomed it back in exchange for a charitable donation!
Buddhist Self-Made Mummies
She was in her early teens, in peak health and had changed her diet around a year before she died. She (and others like her) may have consumed psychotropics and hallucinogens for a few weeks prior to her death by a ritualistic blow to the head... and she was so well preserved that researchers could make a 3D reconstruction of her face.
Since the sacrifice and burial took place in the frigid mountaintop air, her body remained in excellent condition until being revealed by a ridge collapse. She now rests in a refrigerated vacuum-sealed glass chamber, preserved against time.
- Saint Bernadette of Lourdes
- "Green Boots" of Mount Everest
- The Ancient but Flexible Xin Zhui (or Lady Dai)
- The Auto-Icon of Jeremy Bentham
- Buddhist Self-Made Mummies
- Juanita, an Incan Ice Mummy
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| Saint Bernadette of Lourdes. (dodo71) |
Saint Bernadette of Lourdes
After dying of tuberculosis in 1879, she was exhumed in 1909, 1919 and 1925 to see if she had decayed - a lack of rot can be an indication of sainthood in Catholicism. After the final exhumation she was deemed "incorrupt" and moved to her crystal casket.
Notable features of the body are the pale, lifelike hands and face, but this is a bit of a con by the church as they are actually wax overlays. The body has started to decay during its tenure as a saint, though curiously she seemed to not have decayed during the first exhumation in 1909. It could have been that the exhumation interfered with whatever process was keeping her preserved - saponification, perhaps.
"Green Boots" of Mount Everest
Green Boots may have been Tsewang Paljor, a member of a 1996 Indo-Tibetan expedition. The four-man team encountered terrible weather during the ascent but, not wanting to admit defeat, pushed on regardless. Near the end of the climb, three members disregarded the signal of deputy team-leader Harbhajan Singh to wait for better conditions. Seemingly they had been struck by "summit fever" or a desperate desire to reach the summit... with little regard for the risks.
They may or may not have reached the summit (their reports may not be accurate given the bad visibility combined with altitude sickness) but they were hit by a blizzard as they began their descent. A Japanese team may have passed the climbers during their own ascent the next day, but didn't render much aid. In their defense, thinking becomes impaired at high altitudes... and they may also have been unable to help in any meaningful way. Those three men died on the mountain, succumbing to the savage winds.
In 2014 Green Boots (and a number of other known bodies) went missing. It's thought that a Chinese group managing part of Everest's slopes relocated the bodies away from the trail... though they likely remain somewhere on the slopes.
 |
| Scary enough without the dead... (Michael Clarke) |
The Ancient but Flexible Xin Zhui (or Lady Dai)One of the best preserved mummies in the world is Xin Zhui (Lady Dai) of China, a Han dynasty noble who died over 2,000 years ago - her tomb was discovered in 1968 at Mawangdui in Hunan while workers were installing an air-raid shelter.
The noblewoman lay within four nested, lacquered and decorated pine boxes, while also being wrapped in layers of silk and linen clothing. She was then buried beneath white clay and charcoal.
Not only are the joints flexible, the organs remain intact and congealed type-a blood fills her veins. She retains eyelashes and nasal hair, with her fingers and toes in good enough condition to give prints. Researchers believe that her body was washed in wine (and possibly another unknown substance) that helped preserve her flesh and kill any microbes.
Researchers were able to autopsy the mummy, finding her to be overweight and diabetic - possibly a result of a lavish noble lifestyle. Apparently she died from a heart attack around age 50 shortly after eating a meal - her stomach and esophagus contained over 100 musk melon seeds, eaten in haste.
The Auto-Icon of Jeremy Bentham
If you enter the Student Centre of University College London, you may come face to face with a seated figure in a glass box. Dressed in clothing from the Victorian era, these are most of the mortal remains of philosopher Jeremy Bentham. His will requested that his body be made into an "auto-icon" that could be brought to gatherings of companions and disciples - construction was handled by his friend Thomas Southwood Smith in 1832.While most of the process went smoothly, the head didn't respond well to desiccation and the result was fairly... unappealing. A wax replica was fitted instead, while the real head sat between the feet of the ex-philosopher. The head was later displayed separately... and it became a target for pranks. One story even claims that students from Kings College London stole the head and ransomed it back in exchange for a charitable donation!
 |
| Enlightenment came with a harsh diet... (R. G) |
Buddhist Self-Made Mummies
Found scattered around Japan are the sokushinbutsu, a small number of Buddhist monks who successfully mummified themselves.
Subsisting on a diet of bark, roots, spring water and poisonous tea, these monks prepared themselves for living interment. They entered their tomb with nothing but a simple air-tube and a bell - and the tomb was sealed when the bell fell silent.
Later, the tomb would be opened and the monk inspected - if they had mummified, they were considered an enlightened being that had passed beyond death. One such individual is Shinnyokai-shonin, housed at Dainichibou Temple on Mount Yudono. His body remains accessible to the public, with visitors encouraged to silently commune with the centuries old monk.
Even older is Lama Sangha Tenzin, a monk thought to have died half a millennia ago. The Himalayan village of Gue in India sits almost on the border of Tibet - the monk is thought to have travelled there to meditate. Researchers found elevated nitrogen levels (consistent with prolonged fasting) in his body, which itself was fixed in position by a meditation belt. He remains in the village, kept inside a small building and viewable through a glass case.
Subsisting on a diet of bark, roots, spring water and poisonous tea, these monks prepared themselves for living interment. They entered their tomb with nothing but a simple air-tube and a bell - and the tomb was sealed when the bell fell silent.
Later, the tomb would be opened and the monk inspected - if they had mummified, they were considered an enlightened being that had passed beyond death. One such individual is Shinnyokai-shonin, housed at Dainichibou Temple on Mount Yudono. His body remains accessible to the public, with visitors encouraged to silently commune with the centuries old monk.
Even older is Lama Sangha Tenzin, a monk thought to have died half a millennia ago. The Himalayan village of Gue in India sits almost on the border of Tibet - the monk is thought to have travelled there to meditate. Researchers found elevated nitrogen levels (consistent with prolonged fasting) in his body, which itself was fixed in position by a meditation belt. He remains in the village, kept inside a small building and viewable through a glass case.
Juanita, an Incan Ice Mummy
Sometimes called the "Lady of Ampato" and currently residing at the Andean Sanctuaries Museum in Arequipa, Juanita is a frozen Inca girl sacrificed around 500 years ago. She was discovered along with offerings of food, statuettes and jewelry during a 1995 expedition to the Ampato volcano.She was in her early teens, in peak health and had changed her diet around a year before she died. She (and others like her) may have consumed psychotropics and hallucinogens for a few weeks prior to her death by a ritualistic blow to the head... and she was so well preserved that researchers could make a 3D reconstruction of her face.
Since the sacrifice and burial took place in the frigid mountaintop air, her body remained in excellent condition until being revealed by a ridge collapse. She now rests in a refrigerated vacuum-sealed glass chamber, preserved against time.
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