Scientists Uncover Mystery of 300-Year-Old ‘Air-Dried Chaplain’ Mummy, Say He Was an 18th-Century Parish Vicar

A long-held mummy secret has finally made its way into the world, thanks to a water leak. For a long time, researchers were astounded by an 18th-century mummy found in a crypt from St. Thomas am Blasenstein in Austria, according to Popular Mechanics. After years, experts got a chance to have a glimpse into this mummy, and his identity and several eye-opening insights came forth. Findings regarding this discovery have been published in Frontiers. 

The mummy was impeccably preserved and carried many superstitions along with it. It was nicknamed the "air-dried chaplain” by enthusiasts because of the state it was in. According to researchers, its noteworthy features, like well-preserved skin and tissue, made the remains stand out from others of its kind. For a long time, experts had been keen to find out the reason behind this impeccable preservation as well as the identity of the mummified individual. However, an in-depth analysis was not possible because the actual body couldn't be accessed.

In a surprising turn of events, a water leak happened in the St. Thomas am Blasenstein crypt, according to CNN. The 'damage' allowed experts to get a look at the body and garner important insights. Essentially, the crypt went into renovation, and during that time, the team associated with the study got the permission to conduct a state-of-the-art scientific analysis. "It was a win-win situation. We got the mummy for long enough to do a perfect analysis,"  Andreas Nerlich, a professor of medicine at Germany’s Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, said.

Processes like radiocarbon dating, CT scanning, and chemical analysis of bone as well as tissue samples were conducted on the body. Through the testing, researchers were able to answer two important questions: How was it preserved, and who was it?

Though it had been rumored amongst locals that the mummy was of Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg, an 18th-century parish vicar, there was no written evidence to ever confirm this assertion. The results of the tests align with this assertion. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the mummified man died between 1734 and 1780, and was possibly aged 30 to 50 years. As per written records, Sidler expired in 1746 at the age of 37. Both sets of details match with each other.

Researchers were also able to get an idea about the mummified man's diet when alive, which also indicated that he worked as a Vicar. Looking into the chemical isotopes present in a bone sample taken from the mummy indicated that he typically ate grain and meat, something that Vicars of the time usually consumed. Another important finding was that the man appeared to have suffered from food shortages at the end of his life, which experts think could also align with Sidler's life, as he may have faced difficulties during the War of the Austrian Succession.

CT scan aided researchers in solving the biggest mystery associated with the mummy—How was it so impeccably preserved? In the scan, researchers detected wood chips extracted from fir and spruce trees as well as flax fabric, hemp, and linen in the man's abdominal and pelvic cavity. Toxicological analysis further showcased the presence of zinc chloride and other elements. All of these elements possibly aided the mummy in remaining in such an impeccable condition, according to experts. "The chips and the fabric would have (bound) water. The zinc chloride would have had a drying effect and reduced the load of bacteria in the bowel," Nerlich explained. 

Though impeccable, certain researchers were stunned as to how workers back in the day managed to stuff these items inside the mummy, stated Popular Mechanics. From the outside, researchers could not detect any holes in the body. This implied that the items were pushed into the body through a natural opening. Further analysis proved this to be true, and researchers claimed that these chips and fabrics were pushed inside the man through his rectum. This shocked experts as researchers had never come across this kind of preservation ever before. 

Researchers are now keen to find out if such an invasive method was applied elsewhere, according to The Guardian. "This is the first case with this type of documented embalming," Nerlich said. "So we have no idea how often or where this has been performed, although we assume that this type of ‘short-term preservation’ was used much more often than we might expect from this single case."