From a revered political leader to a remarkable finding inside a hollow tree trunk, here are
8 unknown preservation methods
Number 8 Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Lenin is one of Russia’s most significant
historical figures.
He led the faction that took power following the 1917 revolution, ushering in the era of
the Soviet Union.
As of the making of this video, Lenin’s perfectly preserved remains can still be seen
by the public at a mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square.
They’re kept in an airtight glass container and monitored for temperature, humidity and
degradation.
After the Soviet leader’s death, in 1924, thousands came to say goodbye, at a mausoleum
that was only meant to be temporary.
People kept flocking to the mausoleum for weeks and, before long, measures were taken
to preserve Lenin’s body.
The exact process was deemed a state secret.
However, it’s believed to have involved removing all the organs, injecting embalming
fluid into the veins as well as soaking the body in embalming fluid.
Number 7 Nodosaurus In recent years, the Royal Tyrrell Museum
of Paleontology in Alberta, Canada, unveiled arguably the best-preserved dinosaur specimen
ever seen.
The degree of preservation led some to call it a “dinosaur mummy” rather than a mere
fossil.
The Nodosaurus was a giant four-legged herbivore, protected by a plated armor.
When it roamed the Earth, about 110 million year ago, it weighed over 3,000 pounds.
The remains amounted to roughly 2,500 pounds and consisted, as one paleontologist put it,
of “a dinosaur as it would have been”.
The skin, bones, armor and even its guts were intact.
How this happened is largely a mystery.
The theory is that it was swept by a river and carried out to sea.
Then, over millions of years, the minerals formed a shield around its body.
Before we move on, answer this question.
Which animals were most often mummified in Ancient Egypt?
a.
Cats b.
Bulls c.
Crocodiles d.
Horses Let us know what you think in the comments
section below and stay tuned to find out the right answer.
Number 6 Xin Zhui Xin Zhui was the wife of a Chinese aristocrat,
during the 2nd century BC, at the time of the Western Han dynasty.
When her tomb was discovered, in 1968, it became one of the century’s most important
finds.
Xin Zhui’s tomb was immense and featured over a thousand items, ranging from valuable
objects to documents.
She was buried about 50 feet deep, in four coffins of decreasing sizes that encased one
another.
Each of the coffins had artwork mainly with religious themes of the afterlife, rebirth
and immortality.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect is how well Xin Zhui’s body had been preserved,
despite being over 2,100 years old.
She’d been placed in an unknown embalming fluid inside the coffin, which kept her organs
and blood vessels intact.
Researchers even managed to recover small amounts of Type-A blood.
Not only was the woman’s skin still soft and moist, but the muscles allowed flexing
at the joints.
Her eyelashes were still in place as was the hair on her head.
The discovery provided the scientific community with radical insight into preservation methods
as well as into the lifestyles of people from the period of the Han dynsasty.
In 2003, Chinese researchers injected an unknown compound into Xin Zui’s veins, to further
her preservation.
Number 5 Vermillion Burial Vermillion, aside from the color itself, also
refers to a powdered version of cinnabar.
This is a toxic mineral and the most common form of mercury ore, from which elemental
mercury is refined.
While our knowledge of chemical reactions has greatly improved throughout time, the
properties of vermillion weren’t known 5,000 years ago.
Yet, it seems that the powder was used as a preservation method at prehistoric burial
site in Palencia, Spain.
Archeologists discovered bones that were blanketed in crushed cinnabar and concluded that this
had been intentionally done, over 5 millennia prior.
Evidence that the use of vermillion was purposeful includes the absence of cinnabar mines close
to the site and the fact that hundreds of pounds of powder had been used.
Number 4 Sleeping Beauty Rosalia Lombardo was an Italian child who
died of pneumonia, in 1920, when just a year old.
Her father, an official, was so grief-stricken that he commissioned a renowned embalmer to
preserve her body.
Alfredo Salafia used an embalming formula that kept the child’s remains remarkably
intact.
Some details about the preservation method have been lost.
However, the formula has been described as a mixture of glycerin, formaldehyde and an
alcohol solution containing salicylic acid.
It was most likely injected into the corpse through the femoral artery.
The results were astounding as X-ray analysis of the body reveals that the organs are also
intact.
Lombardo’s mummy, sometimes referred to as Sleeping Beauty, is one of the best preserved
bodies in the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo.
Sleeping Beauty gained further notoriety due to the rumor that her eyes open and close
several times a day, revealing her intact blue irises.
This, however, is just an optical illusion created by the fact that her eyes have never
been fully closed.
So, as light filters in through the side windows, it reflects off them creating the illusion
of moving eyelids.
Number 3 Mellification Honey has long been credited as an effective
way of preserving human bodies.
This would seem justified, since honey has certain properties that make it suitable for
long-term storage.
It’s highly acidic and has low water activity while also boasting antibacterial and antiseptic
effects.
The process is known as mellification and traces its roots back to ancient times.
Burmese priests would bury their abbots in coffins full of honey.
Herodotus, in the 4th century BC, claimed that Assyrians would embalm their dead with
honey.
Alexander the Great’s body was allegedly preserved in a honey-filled sarcophagus and
there’s evidence the Egyptians were aware of the practice.
Later on, mellification was also present in medieval Chinese medical literature.
Li Shizen reported that elderly men in Arabia would submit themselves to a process of honey
mummification in order to create a healing concoction.
There was also an element of self-sacrifice to the practice as it started while they were
still alive.
The men would only eat honey and even bathe in it.
When this would result in death, their bodies would be placed in stone coffins filled with
honey.
After about a hundred years, the contents supposedly turned into a confection capable
of healing all sorts of ailments.
So, which animals were most often mummified in Ancient Egypt?
The right answer was a, cats.
Numerous cats were mummified as offerings to the war goddess Bastet, who was depicted
with the head of a cat.
Animal mummification actually originated in Ancient Egypt and, aside from religious worship,
it was done to provide people with food in the afterlife or so that beloved pets would
follow their masters in death.
If you haven’t yet, make sure to check out our video on “10 Ancient Egyptian Facts
You Never Knew”, the link will be in the description below.
Number 2 Sokushinbutsu Mummification is usually a process that takes
place post-mortem but, in Sokushinbutsu, it begins while the person is still alive.
The practice originated with monks in different Buddhist countries and required an outstanding
amount of mental discipline.
The entire process would take over 3,000 days to complete and involved a form of self-mummification
through asceticism.
The monk gradually reduced his intake of food, then of water so that his body would become
dehydrated and his organs would shrink.
Meditation is a vital component of Sokushinbutsu as the monk reached death in a trance, usually
while chanting a Buddhist mantra.
Through Sokushinbutsu, his remains were naturally mummified, with intact skin and teeth, and
without decay or the need for artificial preservatives.
The mummies are revered in Buddhist tradition but the process itself is beyond arduous.
Research suggests that hundreds of monks have tried self-mummification, but only a few have
been successful.
In fact, only 24 such mummies have been discovered so far.
Number 1 Stuckie In the 1980s, while working on a grove of
chestnut oaks in southern Georgia, a group of loggers made a fascinating discovery.
Inside one of the tree trunks they found the perfectly preserved remains of a dog.
The dead animal stared back at them with barred teeth as if it was ready to fight.
Experts examined the carcass and named it “Stuckie”.
They concluded that it was probably a hunting dog that had died in the 1960s.
It had most likely chased an animal through a hole in the roots and then got stuck inside
the hollow trunk.
Stuckie ultimately died due to starvation.
How the carcass remained so well-preserved isn’t fully known but it could have been
a combination of factors.
Tannins from chestnut oaks are actually used in taxidermy and they most likely kept it
from rotting inside.
The dry environment sheltered the remains from the elements and sucked out the moisture.
Also, since Stuckie’s body was trapped inside the tree, other animals couldn’t reach and
perhaps even smell it.
Thanks for watching!
Would you rather your remains be mummified or encased in gold and turned into a statue?
Let us know in the comments section below!