Ancient mummies reveal strange rectal anti-correlation techniques

Modern science has solved a 300-year-old mystery, revealing ways to preserve never recorded in historical records. Researchers found that a well-preserved Austrian mummy known as the “air-dried priest” was carried out through an unusual technique involving packaging material inserted through the rectum.

The mummies are housed in the basement of St. Thomas Am Bresenstein Church in Upper Austria and have long been fascinated by tourists and scientists in their complete state. Now, an international research team led by Dr. Andreas Nerlich has clearly identified the body and found its preserved secret.

“The well-preserved mummies in the basement of the church in St. Thomas AM Blasenstein were Franz Xaver Sidler Von Rosenegg, a legion of the local parish pastor, who died in 1746,” said Dr. Nerlich, a pathologist at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität.

Through detailed CT scans, focal autopsy and radiocarbon chronological tests, the researchers found that the mummy’s abdomen was filled with wood chips, branches, fabrics, fabric fragments, and even silk fragments. Most surprisingly, this material is inserted through the rectum rather than through an incision in the abdominal wall, as is shown in the well-known anticorrosion tradition.

“Our investigation found that the excellent preservation status came from an abnormal type of preservative, which stuffed the abdomen with wood chips, branches and fabrics, and added zinc chloride for internal drying,” Nerlich explained.

These materials will quickly absorb rotting substances and body fluids. Toxicological analysis also shows that high levels of zinc may come from zinc chloride, which has powerful drying and antibacterial properties – creating a perfect preservation environment from within.

In addition to solving the mystery of preservation, the study also provides a window for Sidler’s life. Isotope analysis showed that he enjoyed a high-quality diet consistent with the parish priesthood status. There is evidence that he is a smoker with a pipe with tuberculosis, which likely led to his death during acute pulmonary bleeding at about 37 years old.

Researchers believe that this anti-corrosion method may be more common than previously thought. “This preservation may be more extensive, but it cannot be recognized in situations where the ongoing postoperative decay process may damage the human wall,” Nerlich noted.

This discovery overturns the previous assumption that mummies naturally retain the mummies through basement conditions, thus making it rare to understand historical anticorrosion practices that have been hidden for centuries.