mortuary

18 June, 2021 - 00:15 Alicia McDermott

Medieval People Were Reopening Graves, But Not to Rob Them

In the Middle Ages being dead wasn’t a guarantee you would rest in peace. Researchers have found hundreds of examples of people re-opening graves in cemeteries from Transylvania to southern England...

This ‘mud mummy’ has revealed a previously unknown mortuary practice for non-elite ancient Egyptians.

4 February, 2021 - 01:25 Alicia McDermott

Ultra-Rare Mud Mummy Exposes Previously Unknown Mortuary Practice

CT scans of an Egyptian mummy from approximately 1,200 BC have exposed a type of mortuary treatment which has not been documented in the Egyptian archaeological record before now. The individual is...

16 July, 2018 - 11:14 Bryan Hill

False Doors: The Gateways to the Egyptian Underworld

As the name would suggest, a false door is an imitation door usually found in mortuary temples and tombs across ancient Egypt. Facing west, these doors served as an imaginary passage between the...

The gold hair rings found at Sculptor's Cave near Covesea, Moray.

9 February, 2018 - 18:58 ashley cowie

Children of Gold Uncovered in Pictish Death Cave

Golden rings discovered in a sea cave once adorned a dead child in a bizarre ancient funerary ritual, in Scotland. We might expect to read such a headline in a Peruvian or Chinese archaeological...

16 December, 2016 - 21:47 Mark Miller

2,000-Year-Old Meat Soup Found in Chinese Nobleman’s Tomb

Ancient remnants of oxen stew partially preserved in a cauldron, have been found in the tomb of a Chinese nobleman. The tomb, in Henan Province near the city of Xinyang, dates back about 2,000 years...

9 September, 2016 - 14:47 Thomas O. Mills

The Elusive Egyptian Hall of Records and Hopi Lessons of Death and Rebirth

The constellation of Orion is not wearing a belt. Instead, I think the middle star represents his navel. Medical scientists are just now finding out all the powers of the navel, the umbilical cord,...

The cart from 2,400 years ago was reconstructed using original workmanship techniques with digital modeling and modern design.

16 January, 2016 - 23:31 Mark Miller

Recreating the Past in a Cart Fit for a King: Experts Restore Rolls Royce of Ancient China

Chinese media are calling an ancient cart that experts replicated with computers and other modern and ancient techniques “ancient China’s No. 1 luxury car.” The wooden parts of the cart had...

A girl age 14 to 19 was buried with a sickle across her throat, a copper headband and a coin near her mouth; the authors of a new study said her community may have thought she had demonic tendencies.

10 December, 2015 - 03:54 Mark Miller

17th Century Sickle Burials Reflect Belief that Demons Stalked War-Torn Poland

Poland during the 17th century was a nation torn by war, social upheaval, pestilence, famine and Catholic clerics inciting the populace with tales about the devil and witchcraft. The imaginations of...

Volunteers carefully clean and store the abandoned bodies in the hopes relatives will retrieve them. If not, the bodies are eventually cremated.

31 October, 2015 - 23:02 Mark Miller

Thai Buddhists observe an ancient tradition of honoring the unclaimed dead

A medieval Buddhist tradition started by a Buddhist monk centuries ago has people this month in Thailand exhuming and painstakingly cleaning the remains of 3,890 people who were buried without their...

Main: The west tower of the Frankfurt Imperial Cathedral, under which were interred two Medieval children, one with a Christian burial the other a pagan burial.

17 September, 2015 - 14:49 Mark Miller

Double Medieval child burial, one Pagan, one Christian, mystifies German researchers

Archaeologists say the circumstances of the death and double burial of two little children who died in Medieval Frankfurt, Germany, will probably never be known. One of the children had an apparently...

The head of Nebiri with a broken canopic jar containing his lungs

29 August, 2015 - 14:54 Mark Miller

Researchers identify oldest known case of heart failure in an Egyptian mummy

The oldest case of heart failure in a mummy has been identified in the remains of Nebiri, Chief of Stables, who lived 3,500 years ago in Egypt. Nebiri’s head and a broken canopic jar with his...

The Temple of the Sun, in front of which almost 100 bodies, including many infants, were excavated from an unlooted tomb.

21 August, 2015 - 15:00 Mark Miller

Ring of Babies: The disturbing scene found in 1,000-year-old tomb in Peru

A disturbing scene unfolded as archaeologists in Peru excavated a 1,000-year-old tomb at the pre-Inca Pachacamac site several years ago: a ring of babies that had been buried with their heads facing...

The iconic bust of Nefertiti, discovered by Ludwig Borchardt, is part of the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection, currently on display in the Altes Museum.

12 August, 2015 - 21:47 Mark Miller

The Elusive Tomb of Queen Nefertiti may lie behind the walls of Tutankhamun's Burial Chamber

An archaeologist studying electronic scans of the walls of the ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun's tomb thinks he has found a false wall that may lead to the tomb of Nefertiti, the famous successor...

Kha's head in X-ray with a rich gold collar, gold earrings and an opal plate, possibly an amulet. Note the shrunken brain.

10 August, 2015 - 14:24 Mark Miller

Ancient Egyptian Couple Underwent Different Mummification Practice that Preserved their Organs

Medical researchers studying the ancient, mummified bodies of a rich Egyptian architect and his wife whose organs were not removed concluded they had been treated with anti-microbial and insecticide...

Gold earrings, two knives, a collection of shells, and ceramic containers were uncovered from a flooded Lambayeque tomb.

2 July, 2015 - 21:59 aprilholloway

DNA tests to unravel mystery of Peruvian priestess and burial companions

About 800 years ago, a high status Peruvian woman was buried with seven people and a llama. Some theorize that her burial companions were her relatives, while others maintain they were servants. Now...

16 March, 2015 - 13:58 dhwty

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri

The name Deir el-Bahri means ‘Northern Monastery’, indicating that the site was once used by Christian monks. Prior to the coming of Christianity, however, the site in the Valley of the Kings was a...