Floristics

What is embalming and mummy. Mummy. Mummies in video games

20.03.2021

Origin of the word "mummy"

For the first time the word "mummy" appears in European languages ​​(in Byzantine, Greek and Latin) around the year 1000. It comes from an Arabic word with the meaning "bitumen" or "something soaked in bitumen". Word mummy Arabic and Jewish medieval doctors denoted a special medicine. The Arab physician ibn Betar in the 7th century wrote about the "mummy substance", which comes "from the country of Apollonia." There it descends with water streams from the "luminous mountains". On the shore, it hardens and acquires the smell of tar. He also says that the “mummy” substance can also be extracted from the skulls and stomachs of the ancient Egyptian dead.

In fact, in the Middle Ages, Arab and Jewish traders extracted ancient mummies from Egyptian tombs, tore them into small pieces (then ground into powder) and sold them as medicine. This medicine could be found in almost every pharmacy shop in Europe until the New Age. It was believed that the mummy medicine was good for treating bruises and wounds, often sold as a panacea. In the 16th century, Michel Montaigne branded the practice as a form of cannibalism. With a shortage of real mummies, apothecaries often cheated using fakes from the corpses of beggars, victims of epidemics, and stillborn children. Even in 1912, the German pharmaceutical company Merck offered "real Egyptian mummies" in its catalog.

Gradually, the name of the medicine began to spread to the bodies from which it was “extracted”, that is, directly to mummies in our understanding of the word. Also in the Russian language, another version of the use of this Arabic word was fixed: mumiyo is the name of a medicinal resin not associated with mummies.

The ancient Egyptians themselves called the mummies "sahu" (translit.: sAhw).

The oldest mummies: Chinchorro culture

Although the mummification rite is usually associated with ancient Egypt, since Egyptian mummies have been known since ancient times, the most ancient are the mummies of the South American Andean Chinchorro culture (dating is conditional, 7-9 thousand BC).

The emergence of mummification in Egypt

The rite of mummification of the deceased has been known in Egypt since very ancient times. Until recently, it was believed that the earliest artificially mummified bodies were finds from the early dynastic (approximate dating of the period: 3000 - 2600 BC) necropolises of Abydos, Saqqara and Tarkhan. However, the archeological excavations of the 1997 season of the Anglo-American expedition in Hierakonpolis made it possible to date the beginning of mummification in Egypt. Archaeologists have discovered several intact female burials. Their heads, necks and hands were wrapped in linen and matting. The inventory accompanying the burial was able to be dated by the researchers to the period of the Nakada-II culture (approximately 3600 BC). some scientists, according to indirect data, make the beginning of the mummification process even more ancient. For example, the Australian Egyptologist Yana Jones believes that mummification was already used in the era of the Badarian archaeological culture, that is, approximately in 4500 - 4100 years. BC e. Although, as the researcher herself notes, it is difficult to say here whether wrapping the body of the deceased was just a funeral ritual, or is it just mummification.

Mummification process

According to ancient Egyptian sources, it is difficult to reconstruct the stages of the mummification process. Here are messages from ancient authors - Herodotus, Plutarch, Diodorus and some others. Written sources are supplemented by studies of the mummies themselves.

The bodies of the dead were given to embalmers for processing. During the time of ancient travelers, the process of mummification was already quite degraded in comparison with the art of embalming during the New Kingdom, but even this is enough for Egyptologists to reconstruct the process.

Different types of mummies

Depending on the technology of mummification, age, storage conditions and other factors, the modern appearance of mummies varies greatly. Resin-filled bodies have a greenish tint, and the skin is about the same as tanned leather. Such mummies must be handled with particular care, because they crumble very easily and, in the literal sense of the word, pour in. Save them only bandages.

Bodies that have been mummified using bitumen have a black tint. Bitumen penetrates deep into the tissue and mixes with it so much that sometimes it is difficult to determine by visual inspection where the bitumen is and where the bone tissue is.

The third type of mummies - processed with sodium salts (sulfates, carbonates, etc.). These mummies are similar to the medieval mummies of monks, such as those found in Malta or Spain.

Some ancient Egyptian bodies were embalmed in honey. According to legend, the body of Alexander the Great was mummified "in white honey, which never melted."

Still interesting and unusual are individual finds of the pre-dynastic and the beginning of the early dynastic periods: the bodies were simply plastered and painted. So that the “shell” remained, and everything that was inside it smoldered.

Also, by the mummy, you can determine in what era it was created. For example, the mummies of the XI dynasty are usually made poorly and carelessly. These are usually mummies. yellow color. But already the mummies of the next, XII dynasty, are black. The shrouds are badly placed on the mummies of the Middle Kingdom, some of them are completely absent. But the mummies of the subsequent transitional period - the XIII-XVII dynasties - were even worse preserved. The best mummies come from the New Kingdom. For example, in Theban mummies of the XVIII-XXI dynasties, the limbs bend and do not break.

Mummies outside of Egypt

  • Capuchin Catacombs (Savoca)
  • Mummies that have undergone DNA testing

Guanche mummies

According to the Report to the King of Spain, compiled by the governor Francisco de Borja on April 8, 1615, the Indians of Peru had 10422 idols, of which 1365 were mummies, and some were the founders of their clans, tribes and villages.

Mummies in science fiction

After the discovery of the tomb, interest in Egyptian themes arose. On December 22, 1932, the horror film The Mummy premiered. In the future, many sequels and remakes were filmed on this topic.

Mummies in video games

Literature

  • // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
  • Jones J. Towards Mummification: New Evidence for Early Development. // Egyptian Archeology. 2002. 21.
  • Lupton C. "Mummymania" for the Masses - is Egyptology Cursed by the Mummy's Curse. // Consuming Ancient Egypt. - L., 2003.
  • Budge W. Mummy. Materials of archaeological research of Egyptian tombs. - M., 2001.
  • Cancer IV Legends and myths of Ancient Egypt. - St. Petersburg, 1997.
  • Show I. Ancient Egypt. - M., 2006.

see also

Notes

Links

Categories:

  • archaeological artifacts
  • Archaeological artifacts by type
  • Ancient Egyptian Mortuary Practices
  • Ancient Egypt
  • mummies
  • Burials

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Synonyms:

The culture of ancient Egypt still excites the minds of many historians and conceals great amount unsolved mysteries. Even today we still have a lot to learn from this mysterious civilization, who believed that the soul of a deceased person can leave his body during the day, but must return to it at nightfall.

Before the bodies of the dead Egyptians began to be mummified, they were simply buried in the desert. Later, for the especially rich and influential people began to build stone tombs, but in them the bodies decomposed rather quickly. This was unacceptable for people who firmly believe that after death their soul still lives in the body. Therefore, the ancient priests invented unique technique embalming, which was supposed to preserve the body of the deceased as much as possible so that his soul could return to it whenever it pleased.

At first, mummification was carried out exclusively with the bodies of pharaohs and priests. In the early periods, the existence of a soul among commoners was generally in question. At a later time, from about 3400 BC. this procedure was carried out with the bodies of all those who had enough funds for it. In some tombs, animal mummies were even found, most often they were cats, which the Egyptians considered guides to the afterlife.

Conventionally, the Egyptian mummification technique can be divided into several types: for the poor, for the middle class and expensive mummification.

For the poor.

The oldest mummies were embalmed with bitumen. The solution was so mixed with the tissues of the body that it was practically impossible to distinguish any signs of a person during excavations. The bodies filled with bitumen are black and very fragile, so only a few specimens have survived to this day. Later, a more efficient technique was invented. All organs were removed from commoners, and in abdominal cavity poured radish juice. Then the body was placed in a solution of soda lye for 70 days, after which it was returned to the relatives for burial.

For the middle class.

For middle-class people, a more complex procedure was intended. Through a special tube, a large amount of cedar oil was poured into the body of the deceased. Then all the holes were sewn up so that the oil would not leak out ahead of time, and the body was placed for some time in soda lye. At the end of the required period, the deceased was taken out of the alkaline bath and the oil was released from the intestines, which came out along with the insides. After such procedures, only skin and bones remained from the body.

Expensive mummification (for pharaohs and powerful people).

The first step is to extract all the viscera of the abdominal cavity and the brain. It is worth noting that nothing was thrown away, everything was neatly folded into special vessels - canopies. Then the abdominal cavity is washed with palm wine and rubbed with aromatic compounds. After these procedures, the empty body is filled with cassia, myrrh and other incense, after which it is sent to an alkaline bath for 70-80 days. After the expiration of the period, the body is wrapped with ribbons of linen linen and coated with gum. Only after all these procedures, the already finished mummy was placed in a sarcophagus and locked with all valuable things in the tomb.

The concept of "mummification" has been known since ancient times. This rite was closely connected with the religious beliefs of the Egyptians about the transition of a person after death to other world and eternal life of the soul. It was believed that Egyptian pharaohs are not of human but of divine origin. For them, spacious decorated tombs were built, the most striking examples of which are the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

Together with the mummified body of a representative of the dynasty, all the wealth and objects that could be required in the afterlife were placed in the tombs: jewelry, gold, interior items, chariots. One dynasty was buried in one crypt or place. In southern Egypt, near Luxor, there are mass graves and.

Necropolises of ancient Thebes - Valleys of Kings and Queens

The Valley of the Kings, located on the territory of the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes, is a huge necropolis of the tombs of the representatives of the male half of the pharaonic dynasty. In total, about 80 burials of the kings of Ancient Egypt were discovered in the eastern Valley of the Kings.

The Valley of the Queens, previously called the Valley of the Children, unites a necropolis carved in the eastern part of the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes, where the remains of the wives of the pharaohs, their children, priests and high-ranking officials are buried. One of the brightest tombs is considered to be carved into the rock tomb. It is generously decorated with images that tell about the life and virtues of the queen, as well as her significance for her husband, Pharaoh Ramses II. Death overtook the queen when she was in her fifth month of pregnancy. Her mummy was transported and stored in Brussels, and the mummified body of an unborn child remained in this tomb of Ancient Egypt.

Ancient Thebes remains one of the most extensive sites of archaeological research, which has not stopped for a single day since the accidental discovery of the tombs and mummies of the pharaohs of Egypt by the scientific Rasul brothers in 1871.

Mummification in ancient Egypt was subjected not only to the bodies of people, but also animals. Mummies of cats were found in the tombs of the pharaohs. They were considered a sacred animal, providing magical protection to their owners and home from evil spirits. They personified beauty, grace and intelligence.

Thanks to the well-known and widely used art of mummification in ancient Egypt, even today you can see the untouched bodies of the rulers of the oldest civilization, their retinue and animals.

Mummies Museum of Ancient Egypt

In Cairo, tourists and researchers are given the opportunity to visit the “Royal Mummies” hall, which displays the bodies of the pharaoh dynasty preserved through the process of embalming: Amenhotep III, Ramses II, Ramses III, Ramses IV, Ramses V, Ramses VI, Seti I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, Thutmose III, Siptah, Tiye, Merenptah and other members of the royal family. Here you can also see clay vessels with oils and incense, which were used in mummification in ancient Egypt. Surprisingly, their properties and smell have remained unchanged for thousands of years.

The art of ancient Egyptian mummification is also on display at the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona in Spain. The collection of exhibits from the times of Ancient Egypt is complemented by clothing and household items, accessories, statues, scrolls of manuscripts. There are more than 600 of them in total.

The Department of Ancient Egyptian Art at the Ashmolean Museum, UK, houses one of the most large collections mummies of cats.

The vast necropolis where the mummies were found is located in Egypt. The underground tombs kept not only the mummified remains of kings, but also animals. In particular, in Saqqara, they found 24 sarcophagi marked with markings about the burial of bulls. Such customs are connected with the spiritual beliefs of the ancient Egyptians about the sacred nature of certain animals, such as the Apis bull.

How did the ancient Egyptians carry out mummification?

Like most services in ancient Egypt, the quality of mummification directly depended on the financial viability of the deceased. From the bodies of representatives of the dynasty and high dignitaries, the internal organs were removed through small incisions. The holes were filled with an oil mixture. A few days later, the liquid drained.

For low-ranking officials in ancient Egypt, such a procedure during mummification was not available.

After removing the internal organs from the body, they were placed in vessels filled with special balms, where they were stored in the same tomb next to. The ancient Egyptians believed that after death the spirit returned to the body of the deceased. And for the subsequent life in another world, he needed all the organs of vital activity. In order to prevent rapid tissue decay and complete mummification, the body was subjected to a drying process. It remained untouched for 40 days. After the removal of all organs, with the exception of the heart, a mixture of sodium compounds was poured into the body to maintain its shape. Its composition was mined on the banks of the Nile. The entire body of the pharaoh, priest or mummified animal was also covered with sodium. Then hairdressers and cosmetologists worked on the body. The embalmers then applied a layer of moisture-resistant resin made from natural substances, such as oils, beeswax, and pine resin, to the body. Then the mummy was wrapped in bandages. How The final stage, a mask was applied to the mummy and placed in a sarcophagus.

The entire process of mummification in ancient Egypt took 70 days.

Mummification in Ancient Egypt was carried out only by priests who possessed certain knowledge and had the appropriate rank. Its implementation required skills in this art form.

The ancient Egyptians hid their method of carrying out mummification, and no record of this has been found in a reliable source. However, scientists figured out what the technology they used looked like. They noted that the sand dries the body and does not allow tissues to decompose, and thus contributes to natural mummification in the arid climate of Egypt. In the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, you can see many simple holes in the sand and rocks. They were found mummies of citizens who could afford such a luxury as their own tomb in ancient Egypt.

Video about mummification in ancient Egypt

A mummy is a body preserved by embalming. It is subjected to a special chemical treatment, due to which the process of tissue decomposition slows down or stops altogether. Mummification is possible both natural and artificial.

There have always been many mysteries around mummies, they attracted the interest of both scientists and laymen. The way of the dead, but as if sleeping people were often frightened. People are interested in the process of mummification, as they always wanted to touch the hitherto unknown line between the world of the living and the dead.

But the search and excavation of ancient graves have always remained the lot of desperate daredevils. Nevertheless, today many mummies from all over the world are in museums.

With their help, you can learn a lot about ancient cults without visiting distant and exotic countries, risking your health and life. Legends, however, say that communication with mummies is not safe, and the disturbed dead can take revenge on living people.

Mummification was especially studied in ancient Egypt, where almost everyone could afford to keep their body after death. During the era of the pharaohs, this turned into a sacred tradition. In total, over the past 3 thousand years, about 70 million people were supposedly mummified.

In the IV century, most of the Egyptians converted to Christianity, according to the new faith, mummification was not needed for life after death. As a result, the ancient tradition was gradually forgotten, and most of the tombs were plundered in antiquity by vandals and thieves looking for treasures.

During the Middle Ages, the destruction of mummies continued - they were even ground into powder, creating "magic" potions. The destruction of the tombs was continued by modern treasure hunters. Even the relatively recent 19th century contributed to the destruction of mummies - mummy bandages were used like paper, burning bodies as fuel.

Today, mummification is carried out on a completely scientific basis, an example of this is the mausoleums with the bodies of the leaders of the socialist countries. Let's talk below about the ten most famous mummies in the history of mankind.

Tutankhamun is the most famous mummy.

Now she is in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor. Historians believe that this pharaoh did not stand out among a series of rulers. Having entered the throne at the age of 10, Tutankhamen died at the age of 19. According to Egyptologists, the young man died in 1323 BC. by his death. But the most interesting events associated with the personality of this pharaoh began three millennia after his death. In 1922, the British Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen, untouched by robbers. After the archaeologists opened the wooden and stone coffins nested in each other, they discovered a golden sarcophagus. Since there was no air in it, even flowers were well preserved inside, not to mention jewelry. The pharaoh's face was covered with a mask of pure gold. However, this was followed by a series of accidents that gave rise to talk about the curse of the ancient priests. Just a year later, Carnarvon unexpectedly died of pneumonia (there were rumors of a mysterious mosquito), Carter's assistants died one after another, and suddenly death overtook Archibald Reid, a scientist who wanted to take an x-ray of the mummy. Reasonable arguments were not of interest to society, and yet most of the dead scientists were already advanced in age. Moreover, Carter himself was the last to die, in 1939. The newspapermen simply manipulated the facts to create a mysterious legend.

Networks I.

Among the famous mummies, another Egyptian find stands out - the remains of Seti I. It was one of the greatest pharaoh warriors in history, who also became the father of another legendary ruler - Ramses II the Great. Seti's reign dates back to the 19th Dynasty. According to surviving records, the pharaoh successfully defended Egypt from the army of invaders in neighboring Libya. It was through Set I that the power of Egypt extended to the borders of modern Syria. The pharaoh ruled for 11 years, doing a lot for the prosperity of his country. His grave was discovered in 1917 by accident. Heavy rain caused a collapse of the earth and opened the entrance to the tomb, but inside the researchers saw that robbers had already been here a long time ago and the mummy was not inside. The opening of the tomb itself became a resonant phenomenon, as was the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun. But in 1881, in the cache of Deir el-Bahri, the well-preserved mummy of Seti was nevertheless found. Today it is kept in the Cairo Egyptian Museum.

Ramses II.

The son of Set, Ramesses II the Great reigned for 67 years in 1279-1212 BC. At the time of his death, the pharaoh was over 90 years old. Ramesses became one of the most famous rulers of ancient Egypt. His mummy was discovered by G. Maspero and E. Brugsch in the already mentioned cache of Deir el-Bahri in 1881 among other royal bodies. Now it is in the Cairo Museum, giving an excellent opportunity to imagine what the great ruler looked like. Although at that time an ordinary Egyptian did not exceed 160 cm, the pharaoh's height was about 180 cm. Scientists note that the mummy's facial features are similar to images of the ruler in his youth. In 1974, the museum's Egyptologists discovered that the mummy's condition was deteriorating. For a medical examination, it was decided to send a valuable exhibit to Paris, for this Ramesses even received an Egyptian passport. In France, the mummy was processed and diagnosed. She testified that Ramesses had wounds and fractures from battles and also suffered from arthritis. Experts were even able to identify certain types of herbs and flowers that were used for embalming, such as chamomile oil.

Ramses I.

The grandfather of Ramses the Great and the founder of the Ramsessid dynasty was Ramses I. Before becoming a ruler, the Pharaoh had the following official titles: "Head of all the horses of Egypt", "Commandant of the fortresses", "Royal scribe", "His Majesty's Charioteer" and others. Prior to his reign, Ramesses was known as a military leader and dignitary to Parames, serving his predecessor, Pharaoh Horemheb. It was these two pharaohs who were able to restore the economy and political stability in the country, shaken after the religious reforms of Akhenaten. The tomb of Ramesses I was accidentally found in Deir el-Bahri by Ahmed Abd el-Rasul while he was looking for his lost goat. The man was famous representative families of tomb raiders. Ahmed began to sell numerous items from the burial to tourists and collectors. When the tomb was officially discovered in 1881, the mummy of the pharaoh himself was no longer there. 40 other mummies, sarcophagi and numerous exhibits, including the coffin of Ramses himself, were found in the burial. According to studies of diaries, letters and reports of that time, it was found that Canadian doctor James Douglas bought the mummy for 7 pounds in 1860. He purchased the relic for the owner of a museum in Niagara. It was there that it was kept for the next 130 years, until it was acquired by the Michael Carlos Museum in Atlanta for $ 2 million. Of course, there was no doubt that this was the mummy of Ramesses, lost in the 19th century. However, the results of the computed tomography, X-ray and radiocarbon analysis showed the similarity of the body with other representatives of the dynasty, especially since there was also an external similarity. As a result, the pharaoh's mummy was returned with honors to Egypt in 2003.

Otzi (or Ötzi).

Among the sinister mummies, a special place is given to Otzi (or Ötzi). In 1991, two German tourists found a body frozen in ice in the Alps. At first they mistook him for a modern one, but only in the morgue of the Austrian Innsbruck was Otzi's true age found out. A naturally mummified person was kept in the ice for about 5 thousand years and belongs to the Chalcolithic era. Fragments of his clothes are perfectly preserved, although many of them were taken as souvenirs. As a result of numerous publications about the mummy, more than 500 nicknames were given to her, but the one that was given to her by the Viennese reporter Wendel in honor of the Ötztal valley remained in history. In 1997, the official name of the find was given - Iceman. Today, the find is kept in the Archaeological Museum of South Tyrol in Bolzano. Otzi's height at the time of his death was 165 cm and his weight was 50 kg. The man was about 45 years old, he last ate deer meat, and belonged to a small tribe engaged in agriculture. Otzi had 57 tattoos on him, he had a copper axe, a bow and many items with him. Scientists over time dismissed the original version that Otzi simply froze in the mountains. Numerous wounds, bruises and fractures, traces of other people's blood were found on his body. Criminologists believe that the Iceman saved his fellow tribesmen and carried them on his shoulders, or was simply buried in the Alps. The name of this mummy is also associated with a story with a curse. It is said that the found Iceman caused the death of six people. The first of these was the German tourist Helmut Simon. He received a prize of 100 thousand dollars for his find and, to celebrate, decided to visit this place again. However, there he was overtaken by death in the form of a snow storm. The funeral had just ended when the rescuer, who had now found Simon, died of a heart attack. The medical examiner who conducted the examination of Otzi's body also soon died in a car accident, and this happened at the time of his trip to television in order to give an interview about the find. A professional climber, who accompanied the researchers to the place of discovery, also died - a huge stone fell on his head during a collapse. A couple of years have passed, and now an Austrian journalist who was present during the transportation of the mummy and who made a documentary about her died of a brain tumor. The last of the victims of the mummy today is considered an Austrian archaeologist who studied the body. But hundreds of people were involved in the study of the mummy, so such a chain could be just an accident.

Princess Ukok.

In 1993, a sensational discovery was made in Altai. During the excavation of an ancient burial mound, a well-preserved body of a woman was found in the ice, which was called the Princess of Ukok. She died at the age of 25, and lived in the 5th-3rd centuries BC. In the found chamber, in addition to the mummy, they also found the remains of six horses with saddles and harness, which testified to the high status of the buried woman. She was also well-dressed, and there were numerous tattoos on her body. Although the scientists were delighted with the find, the locals immediately began to say that the disturbed grave and the spirit of the princess would bring misfortune. Some Altaians argue that the mummy, now stored at the Novosibirsk Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, should be buried or returned to their native lands. As a result of disturbing the peace of the spirit, earthquakes and seismological activity became more frequent in Altai, and the number of unreasonable suicides increased. There is an opinion that all these events are the revenge of the princess. They even talk about broken instruments and about crashed helicopters, on which they planned to carry the mummy, but the information about this was not confirmed. Although popular rumor elevated the mummy to the rank of princess - the progenitor of all Altai peoples, scientists debunked this myth. The woman belonged to a wealthy but middle class. In addition, DNA studies showed that she belonged to the Caucasoid race, which caused protest and distrust on the part of the local peoples belonging to the Mongoloids.

Xin Zhui.

In 1971, the mummy of a wealthy Han Dynasty Chinese woman named Xin Zhui was discovered in the Chinese city of Changsha. She died in 168 BC. at the age of 50. The wife of a high-ranking official, a representative of the ancient Thai people, was buried in an unusual way. There were four sarcophagi in total, and they were nested one inside the other, delaying the decomposition procedures. The body itself was floating in 80 liters of a yellowish liquid, the recipe of which remained unclear, since it immediately evaporated. The autopsy gave amazing results - the body weighed only 35 kg, while the joints retained mobility, and the muscles were still elastic. Even the skin has retained its tone. Many different items were found near the deceased, including recipes for her favorite dishes. Also in the sarcophagus were found dozens of books on medicine, where in the smallest details told about operations to increase the brain and bypass the heart. The researchers also found another unusual find there. On a square meter piece of silk, a map of three Chinese provinces was drawn at a scale of 1:180,000. However, the accuracy of the drawing was amazing! It absolutely corresponded to the satellite data. The mysteriousness of the mummy was also given by the fact of the death of one of the scientists participating in the research from an incomprehensible disease. Now the mummy is located in historical museum the city of Changsha.

Tarim mummies.

In the desert areas of the Tarim Basin, Tarim mummies were discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. It is noteworthy that these people were Caucasians, confirming the theory of the wide distribution of people of this race in inner Asia. The most ancient mummies belong to XVII century BC. These people had long blond or red hair, which was braided. Their fabric is also well preserved - felt raincoats and leggings with a checkered pattern. One of the most famous Tarim mummies is the Loulan Beauty. This young woman was about 180 cm tall and had blond hair. She was found in 1980 in the vicinity of Loulan. The age of the find exceeds 3800 years. Today, the remains of a woman are kept in the museum of the city of Urumqi. It is noteworthy that a burial of a 50-year-old man with hair braided into 2 braids and a 3-month-old baby with a bottle and cow horns and a nipple from a sheep's udder was found next to it. There were also found items of ancient utensils - a cap, a sieve, a bag. Craniometric research data suggest that the Tarim mummies have an anthropological resemblance to the Indo-Europeans.

Dashi Dorzho Itigelov.

In 2002 there was significant event- opening of the sarcophagus with the body of the famous Buryat figure of the early 20th century - Dashi Dorzho Itigelov. The Buddhist ascetic became famous during his lifetime. He was born in 1852, having become famous both as a monk and as an expert in Tibetan medicine. Information about his relatives has not been preserved, which gives Buddhists the opportunity to cherish the legend of the extraterrestrial origin of the priest. From 1911 until the Revolution, he was the head of the Russian Buddhists. In 1927, the lama gathered his disciples and ordered them to visit his body after 30 years, and then, reciting prayers, he went into nirvana. The body of the deceased was placed in a cedar box and, according to his will, was opened in 1955 and 1973 in order to make sure of incorruptibility. No post-mortem changes or signs of decomposition were found on the deceased. After 2002, the deceased, without creating any special conditions, was placed in glass in the monastery for everyone to see. Although any biomedical research of the body was banned after 2005, analysis of hair and nails showed. That their protein structure corresponds to the state of a living person, but the content of bromine exceeds the norm by 40 times. They did not manage to find any scientific explanations for the phenomenon, thousands of pilgrims reached for the imperishable body in Buryatia, Ivolginsky datsan.

Lenin.

The name of Lenin is familiar to everyone in our country. This is a Russian and Soviet political and statesman, the founder of the Bolshevik Party, one of the organizers and leaders October revolution 1917. Vladimir Ilyich was the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, first of Russia, and then of the USSR. In 1924, the leader died, and it was decided to keep his body. For this, Professor Abrikosov was called, who embalmed the deceased with a special composition. Already by the day of the funeral, a wooden mausoleum was built. Initially, embalming was designed for a short period of time in order to have time to hold a funeral. Abrikosov himself considered the struggle to preserve the body meaningless, since science simply does not know how to do this, especially since cadaveric spots and pigmentation appeared on the body. Disputes about mummification methods have been going on for a long time - about 2 months! The method of low temperatures with the installation of a refrigerator was rejected, on March 26, work began on the body using a quickly developed unique method similar to Egyptian mummifications. By that time, the body had already acquired dramatic changes. Dark spots were removed with acetic acid, soft tissues were soaked in formaldehyde solution and embalming agents. On August 1, 1924, the Mausoleum was opened to the public; almost 120 million people passed by the sarcophagus all the time. The mummy is periodically subjected to biochemical treatment, while experts believe that with proper care, the remains can be preserved indefinitely. Currently, there are disputes over the very fact of the mummification of the leader. His role in history has already been revised, and the fact of preserving the body was not personal (with the permission and request of relatives), but political. Increasingly, there are calls for the burial of Lenin in the ground.

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

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 distinguished by their tall stature, blond or red hair, 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 Afanasiev and Andronovo cultures. The oldest mummy was perfectly preserved and was named the 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, a 50-year-old man of two meters in height and a three-month-old child were buried nearby with an ancient "bottle" made of cow horn and a nipple made of 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, who were 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 clothes of the deceased are well preserved: a shirt made of Chinese silk, a woolen skirt, a fur coat and stockings-boots made of felt.

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

All signs indicated that the burial belonged to the Scythian Pazyryk culture, common 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 underworld, which now, when 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 past two decades. According to the latest research by Siberian scientists, Princess Ukok died of breast cancer.

Man from Tollund over 2300 years old

In 1950, the inhabitants of the Danish village of Tollund mined peat in a swamp and, at a depth of 2.5 m, found the corpse of a man with traces of violent death. The corpse looked fresh, and the Danes immediately reported 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 man from Tollund (as he was later called) was brought 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 of suffocation. Not only his head survived perfectly, but also his internal organs: liver, lungs, heart and brain.

Now the head of the mummy is exhibited in the city museum of Silkeborg with the body of a mannequin (its own has not been preserved): on the face you can see the stubble and the smallest wrinkles. This is the best preserved man from the Iron Age: he looks like he did not die, but fell asleep. In total, more than 1,000 ancient people have been 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 Lullaillaco volcano at an altitude of 6706 m - she looked as if she had died a couple of weeks ago. Scientists have established that this girl, 13-15 years old, who was called the Ice Maiden, was killed by a blunt blow to the head half a millennium ago, becoming a victim of a religious rite.

Due to the low temperature, her body and hair were perfectly preserved along with clothes and cult objects - bowls of food, figurines 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, a girl and a boy aged 6–7, were also found.

During the study, scientists found that children were prepared for a cult for a long time, fed with elite products (llama meat and maize), 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. The mummies of Inca children are on display at the Museum of Highland Archeology in Salta, Argentina.

Petrified miner circa 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 like he had recently died, 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 fiance - Mats Israelsson, who went missing 42 years ago (!).

In the open air, the corpse became hard as a stone - such properties were given to it by vitriol, which soaked the body and clothes of the miner. The miners did not know what to do with the find: whether to consider it a mineral and give it to the 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 the repair of the miner, they dug up again and showed the public for another 70 years. Only in 1930 did the petrified miner finally find 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, which connects 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 melted (this happened only in 1981), it turned out that the bodies were perfectly preserved due to the conditions of permafrost.

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

Sleeping Beauty 96 years old

In Palermo, Sicily, there is one of the most famous exhibitions of mummies - the catacombs of the Capuchins. Here, since 1599, the Italian elite were buried: the 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 a girl, Rosalia Lombardo.

She died of pneumonia in 1920, seven days short of her second birthday. The heartbroken father asked the famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia to save 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. Scholars acknowledge that this is one of the better ways embalming.