Natural embalming? Bulgarian man became a mummy in two weeks

According to a study published in the scientific journal Cureus, A man living in Bulgaria was found in the process of natural mummificationHowever, the real ‘strangeness’ is that this process took place only 16 days after his death. According to the authors, it can take between 6 and 12 months for a body to progress to the full embalming stage; So they were surprised when they found the body.

Research shows that the man was found on a train line in Sofia, Bulgaria, on September 3, 2023. Scientists note that the internal organs, brain and other organs ‘fade away’ into a kind of structureless mass; Its skin color ranged from light brown to dark brown, and its appearance was hard and leathery.

The man was 34 years old, already known to have a history of alcoholism, and had been missing since August 16, as stated in the police report. It is possible to see pictures of the mummy on Cureus’ website, but It is important to warn that the images are powerful and can be triggering..

The body was wearing a T-shirt, shorts and socks, and it was confirmed that these were the clothes he was last seen alive in. There was information that the deceased used alcohol chronically. No traumatic injury was found on external examination. “The surface of the skin had a color ranging from light to dark brown, and was hard and leathery,” it is explained in the introduction to the study.

natural mummification

They explain that such rapid natural mummification can only occur within hours in extreme climatic conditions, for example, when the temperature is above 30 degrees, humidity is below 50%, solar radiation is 600 watts per square meter and wind speed is about 32 kilometers. In this case, it may be possible for the body to be embalmed quickly rather than entering a state of decomposition.

Despite the special conditions, Sofia’s climate was very different from the necessary: ​​the temperature in the region fluctuated between 16 and 33 degrees, the relative humidity of the air was recorded at 52%, and the average solar radiation was 257.9 watts per square meter. Well, Scientists still cannot fully explain how humans became mummified rather than decomposed.

“Early mummification is a rare phenomenon in non-tropical or equatorial regions. Determining the post-mortem interval is a challenging task, especially in decomposed or mummified corpses. The presented case demonstrates the completely natural mummification of the human body in just 16 days. The illustrated case will enrich the literature and show that mummification occurs rapidly.” “It will raise awareness about the possibility,” the researchers wrote in the conclusion of the study.

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