Archaeologists find 2,000-year-old preserved mummies in sealed tomb
The remains had been embalmed in a plant-based cream.
Archaeologists have discovered mummies in Italy preserved for two thousand years.
The remarkable find was made after an ancient sarcophagus in the ‘tomb of Cerberus’ in Naples was unsealed.
The remains have been preserved by plant-based creams that were applied over the bodies before they were sealed.
The discovery offers new and detailed evidence on how Ancient Rome embalmed the dead.
One of the bodies, which was covered in a shroud and surrounded by grave goods, had been impeccably preserved, the MailOnline reports.
Because of the care taken over his preservation and the goods he was found with, it’s believed the man would have been the head of the family for which the mausoleum was built.
The team behind the dig, from the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape, plan to release photos of the mummies at a later date.
Several other burial sites, dating from the Roman Republic era (510 BC to 31 BC) to the Roman Imperial Age (31 BC to AD 476) have been found in the same area.
The ‘tomb of Cerberus,’ which lies in the suburb of Giugliano in Campania, was uncovered last year.
When opened the chamber revealed impressive frescos on the ceiling depicting Cerberus, the three-headed dog from ancient Greek mythology said to be the guard of the underworld.
The cream used to embalm the body was made from absinthium (wormwood) and chenopodium, a genus of perennial herb often known as goosefoot.
The concoction has been found on other remains, including on the 17th-century body of a bishop buried under a cathedral in Sweden.
Superintendent Mariano Nuzzo said in a statement: ‘In recent months, in fact, laboratory analyses conducted on samples taken from the inhumations and the depositional beds have returned a considerable amount of data on the treatment of the deceased’s body and the funerary ritual carried out, significantly enriching the panorama of our knowledge.’
Archaeologists found the chamber after spotting a wall built using Roman construction technique knows as opus incertum.
The technique uses irregularly shaped and randomly placed uncut stones.
The wall turned out to be the front wall of the tomb, which had been sealed with aslab of tuff — a light, porous rock made of volcanic ash and other sediments.
To get inside the burial chamber, the team carefully removed the tiles that covered the ceiling opening.
Experts are now conducting DNA analysis on the mummies to identify who the people were.
Not far from this dig, another fascinating discovering was made recently.
Underwater archaeologists uncovered a stunning marble floor among the ruins of the sunken Roman city of Baie in the Gulf of Naples.
Baie is located under the sea and was once a holiday retreat for the rich.
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