Investigate the mummy 400 years ago with the power of modern science and unravel the disease that caused deceased people

ByFranklin Heijnen

Although MRI and CT scan are inspection techniques for seeing the fault of the body, we have succeeded in investigating the mummified heart of the person who passed away 400 years ago by using these techniques and unraveling the death time and cause I will.

Modern science in disease in 400 - year - old embalmed hearts | Reuters
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0TL2PN20151202

France: Five 16th century embalmed hearts of elite discovered in heart-shaped urns
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/france-five-16th-century-embalmed-hearts-elite-discovered-heart-shaped-urns-1531385

An archaeologist discovered five lead heart-shaped pots in the ruins of the Kurzlabat Abbey in Rennes, France. It seems that this mound contained a mummified human heart, and it has been revealed that the mummies that entered this vase and jar were buried approximately four centuries ago. In order to investigate this dubious cotton and mummy, the researcher cleanly removes the substance used in the mummy treatment from the heart,MRIYaCT, He seems to have examined the inside of the heart using other equipment. The survey revealed that three of the mummified hearts had holes, which means that the owner of the mummified heart suffered from "a heart disease that is still very common" even now was.

An excavated heart-shaped pot. It is made of lead and characters are engraved on the surface.


An archaeologist who digs out a heart-shaped pot in the Kurzlabat Abbey.


The heart-shaped pot is unearthed at the Kurzlabat Abbey during the period from 2011 to 2013. This Kurrabat Abbey is a monastery built in 1369, a place where it was an important base for pilgrimage. It seems that it was widely used as a burial place from the 15th century to the 17th century, as it was filled with a heart-containing pot, and about 800 tombs have been found besides the heart-shaped pots It seems.

The appearance of the present Katsurabato Monastery

ByPistolero 31

FrenchInstitut National de Recherches Archéologiques PréventivesRozenn Colleter, an anthropologist who works at Berlin, said: "Of the heart mummies found, four were very preserved, as it is very rare case to deal with human organs in archeology, I am looking forward to the survey very much. "

There were five hearts discovered in all, and one of them was very healthy, and it seemed that it did not have any disease. However, three out of fiveAtherosclerosisIt was found that there was also plaque (mass of cholesterol) in the coronary artery. The other one was bad in preservation, "Only one of the mummified hearts was of a woman, which was severely damaged and it was not a level that could be investigated," said a radiologist at the Langueil University Hospital in Toulouse Dr. Fatima - Zohra Mokrane, who will serve, says.


One of the mummified hearts has been clarified from the character "Toussaint Perrien" carved on the surface of the vase to be a nobleman, and this is from the knight of Brefeillac who died in 1649 Thing. The heart of this knight appears to have been taken out of the body when he died and buried in a pot together with his wife's heart. The knight's wife "Louise de Quengo" is believed to have died in 1656, and the body of the knight's wife is worn with cape and wool dress, women's cap, leather shoes from inside the coffin I have found it.

In the earliest of the heart-shaped pots discovered, "1584" and the number indicating the year are written, the most recent one is marked as "1655". Dr. Mokrane commented that what was clarified in this survey is "People of hundreds of years old suffered from atherosclerosis". This disease is a type of arteriosclerosis, a disease in which plaque is generated in arteries by fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances. The plaque tends to harden with time, causing the artery to narrow, causing heart attacks and strokes. Dr. Mokrane says, "Since the same medical condition was confirmed in several old hearts, we found that atherosclerosis is not a disease condition that was born in recent years."


A report on this survey was presented within the meeting of the North American Radiological Medicine Society held in Chicago.