Taphonomy of spontaneous mummification • 81 



may form a shell around the body surface, physically shield- 

 ing the enclosed viscera from external influence and paralyz- 

 ing further bacterial growth and enzymatic action internally 

 by lowering the pH. These changes were thought to have 

 been responsible for the preservation of two bodies sub- 

 merged in water of known temperature for five years (Cotton 

 etal. 1987). 



DESSICATION 



All enzymes can exert their action only in a fluid environ- 

 ment. Hence, enzymatic tissue destruction can be prevented 

 if sufficient water is removed from the tissue (desiccation), a 

 principle employed commercially for preservation of fruit 

 and other foods. In order to be the sole operating mechanism 

 in natural mummification such water removal would need to 

 occur quite rapidly. There may be occasional situations in 

 which this could occur (prolonged exposure to the summer 

 sun in Cairo, for example), but they must be exceptional, and 

 most naturally mummified bodies are not found in circums- 

 tances where this could have been exclusively operative. 

 Burial conditions which would encourage removal of body 

 fluids by conduction (capillary action) could be expected to 

 accelerate the dehydration process in comparison to circums- 

 tances dependent only on surface evaporation and convec- 

 tion. For example, wrapping a corpse snugly in a wool 

 blanket and interring it in sand may increase the rate of water 

 removal from the body through the "wicking" etTect of the 

 textiles and sand. Furthermore, if the body position is verti- 

 cal, enzyme-laden small-intestinal fluids will drain out 

 through the perineum, sparing the viscera of the upper abdo- 

 men and chest. In spite of such enhancing conditions, how- 

 ever, it is probable that in most cases at least partial suppres- 

 sion of enzymatic action by one or more of the other, 

 previously discussed mechanisms may need to operate in 

 order to provide the time necessary for sufficient water re- 

 moval from the tissues to prevent further enzymatic action by 

 dehydration alone. 



The mummies at Venzone, Italy 



Resting at the junction of the Venzonassa Valley with that of 

 the larger Tagliamento River, the small community of Ven- 

 zone was strategically located to permit control of the flow of 

 men and arms in ancient times to and from the Fruilian Plain 

 through this narrow gap in the mountains of northeastern 

 Italy near Trieste. Romans exploited its military virtue, but it 

 was not until a.d. 1258 that the first stone of the wall pres- 

 ently enclosing the village was laid. While feudal lords vied 

 for her possession, Venzone's inhabitants were more con- 

 cerned with the commercial and social activities of their 

 neighboring (and competing) community, Gemona. When 

 the latter erected a majestic cathedral, Venzonians expanded 

 their small church of St. Andrew into a grand cathedral, 

 consecrating it in 1338. Burial vaults constructed beneath its 



Zagreb Paltopalhology Symp. 1988 



Stone floor served as the final resting place for clerics and 

 important citizens during the subsequent five centuries. One 

 of these bodies, relocated during construction work in 1679, 

 was found to be mummified and was hastily hidden protec- 

 tively in the underground tombs. Later remodeling expanded 

 the cathedral further. By the first quarter of the 19th century 

 so many of the bodies in the subterranean church vaults had 

 become mummified that they attracted the attention of a phy- 

 sician from the nearby community of Udine. F.M. Mar- 

 colini. a medical staff member of the Udine municipal hospi- 

 tal, reviewed these mummies in 1829. carried out an autopsy 

 on one of them, and published his findings, providing de- 

 tailed descriptions of 17 of them, including the names and 

 death dates of many ( 1 83 1 :42- 1 2 1 ). By 1 850, 27 mummies 

 had been removed from the burial vaults, and eventually 

 these were placed in glass-fronted display cabinets in the 

 baptistery adjacent to the cathedral where they attracted the 

 curiosity of many a visitor (Galassi 1950). 



Several mummies from this collection have been lost. One 

 or two were transferred to Vienna shortly after Napoleon 

 conquered the area and annexed it to Austria. Two are be- 

 lieved to have been transported to a New York museum and 

 two others to Rome or Padua. None of these have been lo- 

 cated in recent times. In addition one was destroyed by Mar- 

 colini's autopsy in 1829 (Galassi 1950). 



On 6 August 1950 Dr. A. Gallassi from the University of 

 Bologna inspected the displayed mummies, compared them 

 with Marcolini's descriptions and found little change other 

 than the loss of hair from a red beard in mummy No. 5 (Sacer- 

 dote Mistrozzi). He also added his own descriptions of an 

 additional five mummies exhumed since Marcolini's visit 

 (Galassi 1950). 



A total of 21 mummies continued to be displayed in the 

 cathedral's baptistery until the tragedy of 1976. On May 6 of 

 that year a vigorous earthquake centered near Venzone 

 caused considerable damage to the area, but a second one on 

 September 15 was of catastrophic violence and nearly lev- 

 eled most of the buildings in this unfortunate community. Not 

 only much of the cathedral but also the entire baptistery 

 collapsed, partially or completely burying many of the en- 

 closed mummies. A local naturalist led several volunteers in 

 a mummy recovery effort. About half of the 22 bodies were 

 found reasonably intact. The remainder were disrupted, 

 sometimes extensively. Some of the dismembered mummies 

 were reassembled with the aid of pre-earthquake photos, but 

 it was fwssible to salvage only a total of 15 of the 22 damaged 

 bodies. Exposure to the elements had resulted in some appar- 

 ent dampness of the skin in many. Fearing bacterial or fungal 

 growth, the restoring party washed the bodies with a mixture 

 of formalin and phenol, storing them in a room whose walls 

 they washed with a similar solution. Further suppression of 

 microorganismal growth was achieved by lining the floor and 

 part of the room with formalin-soaked newspapers. Subse- 

 quently the mummies were transferred to a metal hut where 

 they have been displayed during the period of community 



