Curious posts for curious people — mummified

Across European cultures, and later stretching over into north America, within many old houses, dating from the Medieval era right up until the 20th century “dried” or “mummified” cats have been unearthed within walls, bricked into chimneys, under floorboards and even over doors and lintels. Often, they’re discovered deliberately posed as if in the midst of attack. These felines ended up within these walls placed by people believing them to protect the household and it’s inhabitants from a range of supernatural, psychic and occult threats as well as sometimes being placed in there for more positive reasons like aiding fertility....

Alice is an example of natural mummification, a process in which the tissues and organs of an individual are preserved without the interference of chemicals by people. Natural mummification can occur in multiple ways, one of these being extreme cold, i.e. being frozen in glaciers – one of the most famous examples of this being Otzi the iceman, found in the Otzal Alps on border between Austria and Italy. Otzi died between 3400 and 3100 BCE but is so well preserved, his tattoos are still visible. Secondly, mummification can be caused by a lack of oxygen, for instance in a...