Latest news with #Nerlich
CBC
05-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Scientists discover 18th-century Austrian mummy was embalmed through the rectum
Scientists have figured out how the body of an 18th-century Austrian vicar has remained so well-preserved for nearly 300 years — and it's unlike anything they've seen before. Kept in a church crypt in a remote Austrian village, he's long been known as the "air-dried chaplain." But according to a recent CT scan he was, in fact, dried from the inside out. "We got a look into the inside of the body, and there we found that the abdominal and pelvic cavities were almost completely stuffed with some mysterious material," Andreas Nerlich, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich pathologist who led the research, told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. A partial autopsy revealed the stuffing is a mix of wood chips, twigs, dried plants and fabrics, which would have soaked up all the bodily fluids and moisture that normally cause decay. But, unlike in other cases of intentional mummification, there were no visible incisions anywhere on the man's body. "The only way for this insertion was the anal canal, which they had used for all the stuffing of this material inside the body," Nerlich said. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, describe a previously unheard-of embalming technique. A newly discovered embalming technique Scientists found traces of zinc chloride in the rectal stuffing, which Nerlich says would have had a drying effect, while also killing bacteria that emerges in the decaying process. There was no internal damage to his upper body cavities, suggesting the material was inserted from below. The study concludes the embalmer most likely had to cut through the upper rectum or colon. Andrew Nelson, chair of the department of anthropology at Western University in London, Ont., called it "extremely interesting." "Somebody knew what they were doing," said Nelson, who was not involved in the research. Nelson says some ancient Egyptian and Peruvian mummification practices involved "eviscerating" the anus — cutting it open to remove organs and entrails. But he's never seen anything quite like this. "It certainly highlights the sort of thing that every time you do a CT scan of a mummy, you never know what you're going to find," he said. Who was he? The man in question is believed to be Austrian vicar Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, an aristocratic monk who died from infectious disease in 1746 at the age of 37. His body has long rested at St. Thomas am Blasenstein, a church north of the Danube River in Austria. A few years after his death, rumours began swirling about his remarkably intact body, Nerlich said. According to CNN, the mysterious preservation drew pilgrims to the village who believed the remains might bestow healing properties. The new study confirms a lot of local knowledge about the man. Radiocarbon dating shows he died between 1734 and 1780, likely 30 to 50 years, as expected. An analysis of his bone, skin and teeth reveal a diet rich in grain and meat, in keeping with the food supply of a local parish vicar. His skeleton showed no signs of stress, which would be typical of the relatively comfortable life of a man of the cloth. How did he die? In the year 2000, a pharmacologist from the University of Vienna scanned the vicar's body with a portable X-ray machine and found a small round object nestled in his lower bowel, leading to speculation he'd swallowed a poisonous capsule. The truth turned out to be much more mundane. The item is, in fact, "a little glass pearl" commonly used to embroider fabrics. "It must have been coming to the body just by chance during this stuffing," Nerlich said. The study concludes the vicar most likely died from complications from tuberculosis, as his body showed several signs of the disease. Why was he embalmed that way? Just because the unusual embalming technique has never been documented before doesn't mean it was rare, says Nerlich. He suspects it has been a method of preserving bodies in the short term when moving them from one place to another. In this case, the vicar's remains may have been prepared for transport to his original monasteryin Waldhausen im Strudengau, but ended up remaining in the village crypt for unknown reasons. Nerlich says a number of stars had to align for him and his team to make this discovery. Had the man been buried rather than left in a dry Alpine crypt, he likely would have decayed. What's more, his team only performed these tests because the church needed some upkeep, and they were able to borrow the body for study during renovations. Canadian bioarchaeologist Heather Gill-Frerking says the study is an example of how modern technology is "vital to unravelling ancient mysteries." But she says she wishes the researchers had not opened up the body to examine what they found in their scans. "This particular project revealed some valuable information, but I am not a proponent of the invasive, destructive autopsy approach to the analysis of mummies," she told CBC in an email. Nelson says it's always important, when studying mummies, to centre their humanity. "It's kind of titillating to think of, you know, stuffing things up his rectum. But something that's always important to recognize is that these are people," he said.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mummy mystery solved: ‘air-dried' priest was embalmed via rectum
The mystery of a mummy from an Austrian village has been solved, according to researchers who say it was embalmed in an unexpected way – via the rectum. Intrigue had long swirled around the mummified body stored in the church crypt of St Thomas am Blasenstein. The remains were rumoured to be the naturally preserved corpse of an aristocratic vicar, Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, who died in 1746 at the aged of 37, gaining the mummy the moniker of the 'air-dried chaplain'. Now experts say they have discovered the body was embalmed with the abdominal and pelvic cavities packed with wood chips, fragmented twigs, fabrics such as hemp and silk, and zinc chloride – materials that would have absorbed fluids inside the body. Dr Andreas Nerlich, a pathologist at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany and first author of the study, said the discovery was a surprise as there was no external evidence for such a process. 'The body wall was not opened – therefore the only entrance possible was the rectum,' he said, noting this was very different from previously known methods of embalming, including those from ancient Egypt. Writing in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, Nerlich and colleagues reported how the mummy had previously been externally examined by experts and studied via X-rays among other investigations. While the X-rays did not detect the internal stuffing, they did reveal a round structure inside the mummy's left lower bowel – leading to rumours that the individual had died after swallowing a poisonous capsule. During a recent renovation of the crypt, Nerlich and colleagues gained approval to carry out a partial autopsy, CT scans and other analyses. The researchers discovered the mummy – which has a well-preserved upper body, but decay to the face, lower legs and feet – is that of a man, most likely between 35 and 45 years of age, with radiocarbon dating of a skin sample suggesting he died between 1734 and 1780. The team note these insights fit with what is know about Sidler, adding that an analysis of bone, tooth and skin samples revealed the man's diet was consistent with that of a local parish vicar in the region, being rich in animal products and central European grain varieties. As expected for a man of the cloth who had an easy life, the skeleton showed no signs of stress – while the corpse showed evidence of long-term pipe-smoking and bunions. 'Both wearing pointy shoes and smoking [a] pipe are very typical for a priest at that time,' said Nerlich. As for the 'poisonous capsule', the researchers discovered the object was a single glass bead – similar to those used for rosaries – that may have entered the body as a decoration on the fabric used for stuffing. Sidler's cause of death, the team added, was most likely severe bleeding into the lungs as a result of tuberculosis, with the body showing signs of the disease. Yet why Sidler was embalmed remains unclear. While the team said the evidence suggests it was carried out to avoid the spread of infection by miasma – or 'bad air' – Nerlich said another potential explanation was that Sidler was preserved for transport to his home monastery of Waldhausen. And he may not have been the only one to receive such treatment. 'This is the first case with this type of documented embalming,' Nerlich said. 'So we have no idea how often or where this has been performed, although we assume that this type of 'short-term preservation' was used much more often than we might expect from this single case.'
Egypt Independent
02-05-2025
- Health
- Egypt Independent
Secrets of enigmatic Alpine mummy revealed by scientists
Stored in a church crypt in a remote Alpine village, a set of unusually well-preserved human remains has long been a rich source of rumor and speculation. Local lore suggested the mummified body, thought to be that of an 18-century clergyman who succumbed to an infectious disease, had been recovered from a grave a few years after death and transferred to the crypt at St. Thomas am Blasenstein, a church in a village north of the Danube River in Austria. The body's miraculous preservation — with skin and tissue intact — early on attracted pilgrims who thought the remains might bestow healing properties. Centuries later, a capsule-shaped object spotted in an X-ray scan of the mummy revealed that the cleric might have met a more sinister end, suggesting he may have been poisoned. Now, a team of scientists is offering new insight into many of the unanswered questions surrounding the mysterious mummy, nicknamed the 'air-dried chaplain.' The revelations come after a recent renovation prompted by a water leak in the crypt created an unexpected opportunity to perform a state-of-the-art scientific analysis on the corpse. 'We took the mummy for a few months for examination with our specialized teams, CT scans and so on. In the meantime, they had time to renovate,' said Andreas Nerlich, a professor of medicine at Germany's Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, who led the research. 'It was a win-win situation. We got the mummy for long enough to do a perfect analysis.' Through CT scanning, radiocarbon dating and chemical analysis of bone and tissue samples, Nerlich and his colleagues were able to confirm the mummy's identity and determine the unique way in which the body had been preserved for so long. The researchers reported their findings in a paper published Friday in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. A previously unknown embalming method The study's biggest surprise came as a result of the CT scan: The scientists found the mummy's abdominal and pelvic cavity packed with material such as wood chips from fir and spruce trees, linen, hemp and flax fabric, including some that was delicately embroidered. Additional toxicological analysis revealed traces of zinc chloride and other elements. 'It was really unexpected because the body walls were completely intact,' he said. To explain this apparent contradiction, the team theorized that the material was likely inserted through the rectum. And the researchers believe it's the mixture of materials that has kept the mummy in its apparent air-dried state. 'The chips and the fabric would have (bound) water. The zinc chloride would have had a drying effect and reduced the load of bacteria in the bowel,' Nerlich said. This approach to embalming differs from better-known methods used in ancient Egypt in which opening the body is necessary. The technique seen in the clergyman also hasn't been reported in scientific literature before, Nerlich added. He said he believes the method, though it's not recorded in any textbooks from the time, might have been widely used in the 18th century to preserve a corpse for transport or viewing. Mummification practices were likely much more widespread and diverse in the past, said Gino Caspari, an archaeologist and editor of 'The Book of Mummies: An Introduction to the Realm of the Dead.' When examined with new interdisciplinary analysis techniques, mummies provide a richer source for studying the past than purely skeletal remains, Caspari added. 'We can gain a lot of knowledge from mummified remains: This ranges from the study of disease and medical treatments to substance use and cultural aspects like attitudes towards death and the body,' said Caspari, who wasn't involved in the research. While it is clear that the 'air-dried chaplain' is not a natural mummy, more detailed analysis is needed to say definitively whether zinc chloride was used to preserve the remains, said Marco Samadelli, a senior researcher at the Institute for Mummy Studies at Eurac Research, a private research institute in Bolzano, Italy, where Ötzi the Iceman is located. Samadelli noted that small amounts of arsenic, a well-known embalming agent, were also detected in the mummy. Decoding the mummy's identity The team concluded that the mummified body was that of Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, an aristocrat who was a monk before becoming the parish vicar at St. Thomas am Blasenstein for about six years. He died while in that post in 1746 at the age of 37. Among locals, the mummy was rumored to be Sidler, although there was no written evidence to that effect, according to the study. Radiocarbon dating of the specimen placed the year of his demise between 1734 and 1780, and analyses of the body suggested an age at death from 30 to 50 years, with the most plausible span between 35 and 45 years. The dates in both cases align with what's known about Sidler's end, the study noted. Additionally, the study of chemical isotopes — variants of carbon and nitrogen that reflect plant or animal proteins consumed — from a bone sample taken from the mummy's spine revealed a high-quality diet based on grain and a large proportion of meat. 'This is well in line with the expected rural food supply of a local parish vicar,' the study authors wrote in their paper, adding that the absence of stress on the skeleton fitted the life of a priest lacking in hard physical activity. However, the study found that toward the end of the clergyman's life, he may have experienced food shortages, perhaps caused by the War of Austrian Succession underway at the time. What killed the 'air-dried chaplain'? The vicar, who had a long-term smoking habit, wasn't poisoned, the study determined. Instead, the researchers believe he suffered from chronic tuberculosis, which may have killed him by causing an acute pulmonary hemorrhage. Inside the mummy, the researchers found a small glass sphere with holes on both ends — perhaps part of a set of rosary beads accidentally trapped in the embalming material. This item, Nerlich said, was the bullet-shaped object picked up by an X-ray conducted in the early 2000s that had raised suspicions of a poisonous capsule. The team likewise found no evidence that the body had ever been buried and exhumed, Nerlich added. More likely, the body had been prepared to travel back to the vicar's 'mother monastery' 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) away, but for reasons lost to time, the corpse was left in the church crypt, never to embark on its final journey.
Scottish Sun
02-05-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Shockingly intact mummy found perfectly preserved after bizarre ‘rectal twigging' method scientists have never seen
The mummy's upper body is well preserved, but the lower extremities and head show significant decay BUM-MIFIED Shockingly intact mummy found perfectly preserved after bizarre 'rectal twigging' method scientists have never seen Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A NEARLY 300-year-old mummy has been found "unusually well-preserved" after undergoing a bizarre embalming method. With its skin still remarkably intact, the 18th-century corpse was found with wood chips, twigs and fabric packed into his abdomen through his anus. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 9 The mummy's upper body is well preserved, but the lower extremities and head show significant decay Credit: Andreas Nerlich 9 The stuffing technique has never been seen before Credit: Andreas Nerlich 9 Upon opening the body, researchers found wood from fir and spruce trees, as well as fragments from branches Credit: Andreas Nerlich 9 There was also a number of different fabrics used, including linen, hemp and flax - which were popular at the time Credit: Andreas Nerlich Upon opening the body, researchers found wood from fir and spruce trees, as well as fragments from branches. There was also a number of different fabrics used, including linen, hemp and flax - which were popular at the time. The technique has never been seen before. "The unusually well-preserved mummy in the church crypt of St Thomas am Blasenstein is the corpse of a local parish vicar, Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, who died in 1746," said study lead author Dr. Andreas Nerlich, a research at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität that specialises in mummy research. "Our investigation uncovered that the excellent preservation status came from an unusual type of embalming, achieved by stuffing the abdomen through the rectal canal with wood chips, twigs and fabric, and the addition of zinc chloride for internal drying." The mummy's upper body is well preserved, but the lower extremities and head show significant decay. Researchers believe the combination of materials, and the addition of the drying agent zinc chloride, kept the mummy in good condition for nearly 300 years. "Clearly, the wood chips, twigs, and dry fabric absorbed much of the fluid inside the abdominal cavity," said Nerlich. Better-known methods, like those used by the ancient Egyptians, involve opening the body to prepare it. Shock footage reveals moment a medieval mummy is seized in house raid Here, however, the embalming materials were stuffed through the rectal canal. "This type of preservation may have been much more widespread but unrecognised 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," suggested Nerlich. 9 Inside the mummy, researchers also found a single bead, which they believe could have been lost during the preparation of the body Credit: Andreas Nerlich 9 The mummy is assumed to be the preserved remains of a parish vicar named Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, who died in 1746 Credit: Andreas Nerlich Inside the mummy, researchers also found a single bead, which they believe could have been lost during the preparation of the body. It is not entirely clear who the mummy once was - but there are theories. Located in a church crypt in St. Thomas am Blasenstein, a small village in Austria near the Danube River, the mummy is known locally as the the "air-dried chaplain". It is assumed to be the preserved remains of a parish vicar named Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, who died in 1746. There was a lack of stress signs on the skeleton, according to experts, which fit the life of a priest without hard physical activity. The mummy is also believed to been between 35 and 45 years old when they died, between the years 1734 and 1780 - which match Sidler's life. People have long speculated the cause of the priest's death. An X-ray analysis in 2000 suggested his mummy contained a poison capsule. But new research, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, squash this theory. The team conducted extensive analyses, including CT scanning, focal autopsy, and radiocarbon dating. Instead, they found evidence of long-term smoking and signs of tuberculosis in the lungs. 9 St Thomas am Blasenstein Credit: Nachrichten 9 Researchers believe the combination of materials, and the addition of the drying agent zinc chloride, kept the mummy in good condition for nearly 300 years Credit: Andreas Nerlich
The Sun
02-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Shockingly intact mummy found perfectly preserved after bizarre ‘rectal twigging' method scientists have never seen
A NEARLY 300-year-old mummy has been found "unusually well-preserved" after undergoing a bizarre embalming method. With its skin still remarkably intact, the 18th-century corpse was found with wood chips, twigs and fabric packed into his abdomen through his anus. 9 9 9 9 Upon opening the body, researchers found wood from fir and spruce trees, as well as fragments from branches. There was also a number of different fabrics used, including linen, hemp and flax - which were popular at the time. The technique has never been seen before. "The unusually well-preserved mummy in the church crypt of St Thomas am Blasenstein is the corpse of a local parish vicar, Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, who died in 1746," said study lead author Dr. Andreas Nerlich, a research at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität that specialises in mummy research. "Our investigation uncovered that the excellent preservation status came from an unusual type of embalming, achieved by stuffing the abdomen through the rectal canal with wood chips, twigs and fabric, and the addition of zinc chloride for internal drying." The mummy's upper body is well preserved, but the lower extremities and head show significant decay. Researchers believe the combination of materials, and the addition of the drying agent zinc chloride, kept the mummy in good condition for nearly 300 years. "Clearly, the wood chips, twigs, and dry fabric absorbed much of the fluid inside the abdominal cavity," said Nerlich. Better-known methods, like those used by the ancient Egyptians, involve opening the body to prepare it. Shock footage reveals moment a medieval mummy is seized in house raid Here, however, the embalming materials were stuffed through the rectal canal. "This type of preservation may have been much more widespread but unrecognised 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," suggested Nerlich. 9 9 Inside the mummy, researchers also found a single bead, which they believe could have been lost during the preparation of the body. It is not entirely clear who the mummy once was - but there are theories. Located in a church crypt in St. Thomas am Blasenstein, a small village in Austria near the Danube River, the mummy is known locally as the the "air-dried chaplain". It is assumed to be the preserved remains of a parish vicar named Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, who died in 1746. There was a lack of stress signs on the skeleton, according to experts, which fit the life of a priest without hard physical activity. The mummy is also believed to been between 35 and 45 years old when they died, between the years 1734 and 1780 - which match Sidler's life. People have long speculated the cause of the priest's death. An X-ray analysis in 2000 suggested his mummy contained a poison capsule. But new research, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, squash this theory. The team conducted extensive analyses, including CT scanning, focal autopsy, and radiocarbon dating. Instead, they found evidence of long-term smoking and signs of tuberculosis in the lungs. 9 9 9
