After spending nearly 300 years buried in a coffin, most people would be reduced to a pile of bones.
But not Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, the Austrian ‘Air-Dried Chaplain’ who is exceptionally well-preserved.
The long-dead vicar, who passed away in 1746, has an unusual embalming method to thank for his extraordinary durability.
But it’s not one for the squeamish.
‘The unusually well-preserved mummy in the church crypt of St Thomas am Blasenstein is the corps of a local parish vicar, Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, who died in 1746,’ said Dr Andreas Nerlich, a pathologist at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and first author of the study.
While many cultures around the world have embalmed their dead for centuries, this was the first time scientists had seen anything like this.
‘Our investigation uncovered that the excellent preservation status came from an unusual type of embalming,’ Dr Nerlich said.
‘It was achieved by stuffing the abdomen through the rectal canal with wood chips, twigs and fabric, and the addition of zinc chloride for internal drying.’
As seen from these pictures, the mummy was extremely well preserved with a ‘completely intact body wall’
Picture A shows a piece of cotton with an elaborate floral pattern that was found in the mummy’s abdominal cave. Image B is a fragment of silk fabric used for the mummy’s cross
The team conducted extensive analyses including CT scanning, focal autopsy, and radiocarbon dating.
The mummy’s upper body was fully intact, whereas the lower extremities and head showed considerable post-mortem decay.
During their investigation, the researchers found a variety of foreign material packed in the abdominal and pelvic cavity.
Upon opening the body, the team identified wood chips from fir and spruce, fragments of branches, as well as different fabrics, including linen, hemp, and flax. All these materials were easily available at that time and in that region.
The researchers believe it is this mixture of materials that kept the mummy in such good condition.
‘Clearly, the wood chips, twigs, and dry fabric absorbed much of the fluid inside the abdominal cavity,’ Dr Nerlich said.
Next to these absorbents, a toxicological analysis showed traces of zinc chloride, which has a strong drying effect.
While most embalming methods involve opening the body to prepare it, this required inserting the embalming materials through the rectum.
The mummy of the ‘air-dried chaplain’ in his coffin in the church crypt of St. Thomas am Blasenstein
Picture A shows a mixture of fragmented white fabric, small wood chips and plant material that was removed from the mummy’s abdomen. Picture B shows a round foreign sphere detected in the left pelvis
The church of St. Thomas am Blasenstein, Upper Austria. The well-preserved mummy was found in the crypt
‘This type of preservation may have been much more widespread but unrecognized in cases where ongoing postmortal decay processes may have damaged the body wall so that the manipulations would not have been realized as they were,’ Dr Nerlich explained.
Inside the mummy, the researchers also found a small glass sphere with holes on both ends – perhaps an application to fabric of monastic origin. Since only a single bead was found, it might have been lost during the preparation of the body.
The team’s analysis, which included radiocarbon dating, also revealed that the mummy ate a high-quality diet based on central European grains, animal products and possibly fish.
Towards the end of his life he may have experienced food shortages, likely due to the War of Austrian Succession.
The lack of major sign of stress on the skeleton fits the life of a priest without hard physical activity. There also was evidence of a long-term smoking habit, and lung tuberculosis towards the end of his life.
Dr Nerlich said it’s possible the mummy had been prepared for transportation to his home abbey, which might have failed for unknown reasons.
The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.
WHAT ARE THE OLDEST TATTOOS IN THE WORLD?
Since his discovery on 19 December 1991 by German hikers, Ötzi (artist’s impression) has provided window into early human history.
Since his discovery on 19 December 1991 by German hikers, Ötzi has provided a window into early human history.
His mummified remains were uncovered in melting glacier in the mountainous border between Austria and Italy.
Analysis of the body has told us that he was alive during the Copper Age and died a grisly death.
Ötzi, who was 46 at the time of his death, had brown eyes, relatives in Sardinia, and was lactose intolerant.
Experts discovered a total of 61 tattoos on Ötzi’s body using different wavelengths of light to pick them out on the mummy’s darkened skin.
And in December 2015 they were confirmed to be the world’s oldest – beating markings on an unidentified South American Chinchorro mummy.
Experts had thought the South American mummy with a moustache-like tattoo on its face died in around 4,000BC, before realising it’s younger than Ötzi, who was killed in around 3250 BC.
While researchers can’t be sure why Ötzi had the tattoos, many think that they served as a form of acupuncture.
‘We know that they were real tattoos,’ Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy told LiveScience.
The ancient tattoo artist who applied them ‘made the incisions into the skin, and then they put in charcoal mixed with some herbs.’
The tattoos, mostly found on Ötzi’s lower back and legs, between the knee and food, may have been a way to relieve the effects of chronic pain or injuries.
Experts discovered a total of 61 tattoos on Ötzi’s body using different wavelengths of light to pick them out on the mummy’s darkened skin and in December 2015 they were confirmed to be the world’s oldest
Ötzi was thought to have done a lot of walking in the Alps, which could have resulted in joint pain in his knees and ankles.
The 61st tattoo, found on the ribcage, has puzzled researchers who suggest Ötzi may also suffered from chest pain.
If the tattoos were not for therapeutic benefit, the researchers say they could have had symbolic or religious significance.
Alternatively, they may simply be geometric shapes with no hidden meaning.
In March, 2018, figurative tattoos were been discovered on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies at the British Museum.
Experts said that these were the world’s earliest figurative tattoos.
The tattoos are of a wild bull and a Barbary sheep on the upper-arm of a male mummy, and S-shaped motifs on the upper-arm and shoulder of a female.
The find dates tattoos containing imagery rather than geometric patterns to 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Researchers said the discovery ‘transforms’ our understanding of how people lived during this period.
