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Eerie discovery: Hungarian scientists find a mummified child's hand clutching an ancient coin

Maria Tsikhotska

Eerie discovery: Hungarian scientists find a mummified child's hand clutching an ancient coin
Eerie discovery: Hungarian scientists find a mummified child's hand clutching an ancient coin

The discovery amazed scientists with the excellent preservation of soft tissue, particularly the hand. After conducting a chemical analysis of the remains, they found that all the tissues were heavily contaminated with copper. This is the first case of "copper mummification". The "copper" remains of a small child with a copper coin in his hand were found in an abandoned cemetery in Nyarlorincsi, Hungary.

IFLScience writes about it.

Scientists called the discovery "unprecedented in bioarchaeological history." Scientists were interested in the reason for such a remarkable preservation of the soft tissues of the hand because it is impossible in a cemetery. The study showed that the child's body contained a very high copper content. It was 497 times higher than the level found in other mummies.

Read also: A site associated with an ancient cult found in Bolivia.

The copper coin that the baby was holding in his hands mummified his body. That is why the soft tissues of the child are so well preserved. It is interesting to note that the coin was in circulation between 1858 and 1862, and the child was buried 150 years after the cemetery was no longer used.

As a reminder, we have already written about the Viking treasures found in Jutland.

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