Strands of hair and cloth from mummy of Ramses II are put up for sale on Internet--and no surprise, the seller is arrested (jpost.com)

"French police have arrested a man who tried to sell what he claimed were strands of hair and tiny pieces of funeral cloth from the mummy of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II on the Internet, judicial officials said Wednesday. The man, identified as Jean-Michel Diebolt, had allegedly obtained the pieces after his late father, who had been a French researcher, analyzed the body and 3,200-year-old mummy in the 1970s, the officials said. The 50-year-old suspect, a postman who also writes for a local newspaper, was detained late Tuesday at his home in the town of Saint-Egreve, a suburb of Grenoble in southeast France, the officials said. Police seized a dozen small plastic sachets and boxes containing minuscule samples of hair and cloth that he alleged came from Ramses II. 'Selling strands of hair from the mummy of Ramses II: €2,000,' read the entry on the Web site, which said strands of cloth from the mummy also were available. Diebolt's wife, Sonia, insisted in an interview that the pieces were authentic and that she was unaware whether the late scientist had the right to possess them...."

New Plastinarium display boosts economy of small German town (theberlinpaper.com)

"Gunther von Hagens, a German anatomist who invented “plastination,” a method of preserving dead bodies with polymers, opened The Plastinarium this past week in Guben, a town in Brandenburg two hours from Berlin by train. The museum, a stationary version of von Hagens’ Body Works traveling corpse show, could create as many as 700 jobs in the depressed Polish-German border town. The museum’s opening has been controversial in Germany and Austria, perhaps because people here still remember the first Body Works’ marketing campaign in 1995 in Berlin, in which von Hagens placed a pregnant, preserved corpse and its near-term fetus on a city bus. The reaction to Body Works in the US and in Asia, however, has been more fascination than disgust. Von Hagens told New York University dental school magazine Nexus that while Germans, Austrians, and others might find the show distasteful, Americans and Asians like it...."

Preserved flu virus can live for decades in frozen lakes (sciam.com)

"Influenza virus can live for decades and perhaps even longer in frozen lakes and might be picked up and carried by birds to reinfect animals and people, researchers reported on Tuesday. Such frozen viruses could potentially become the source of new epidemics that sicken and kill generations after they were last seen, the researchers report in the Journal of Virology. 'We've found viral RNA in the ice in Siberia, and it's along the major flight paths of migrating waterfowl,' said Dr. Scott Rogers of Bowling Green State University in Ohio. 'The lakes are along the migratory flight paths of birds flying into Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa,' the researchers wrote. Migrating birds are blamed, in part, for the spread of H5N1 avian influenza, which has killed or forced the culling of more than 200 million birds globally. Since January, H5N1 has spread out of Asia, across Europe and into Africa. Now more than 50 countries have battled the virus, which has infected 258 people and killed 153 since 2003. Experts fear it could mutate into a form that easily infects people and causes a pandemic. There were three such pandemics in the last century and one, the 1918-1919 pandemic, killed anywhere from 40 million to 100 million people...."

Researcher discusses death of King Tut: A badly broken and infected leg killed him (guardian.co.uk)

"The world's most celebrated boy king, Tutankhamun, may have died after badly breaking a leg while playing sport. A detailed scan of the mummy, which was uncovered in the Valley of Kings in 1922, has revealed the high-impact fracture as the most likely cause of death. Speculation over the death of Tutankhamun has raged since the mummy was first inspected in 1925, three years after his tomb was excavated by Howard Carter and his patron Lord Carnarvon. The first x-ray scans conducted in 1968 found signs of damage to the skull, prompting suggestions that he had been killed by a blow to the head. Researchers led by Ashraf Selim, a radiologist at Kasr Eleini Teaching Hospital at Cairo University, used a mobile CT scanner to build up a 3D image of the 3,300-year-old body from 1,900 separate images. The reconstruction showed him to be 5ft 11in tall and probably 19 years old when he died. But precision scans of the king's left thigh revealed extensive details of a high-impact fracture above the left knee. The kneecap was badly twisted to the outside of the leg, and the wound was open to the outside world, where it was vulnerable to infection. What is believed to be the remnants of embalming fluid had deeply penetrated the fracture, suggesting the injury was sustained in the king's lifetime and not inflicted during the original excavation.... How the injury was sustained is still uncertain, but the...fracture matches a common breakage suffered by jockeys...."

More on the death of King Tut

Are you related to Ötzi the Iceman? This reporter is (whbf.com)

"This is one of the most interesting stories I have been a part of. When I first learned about National Geographic's Genographic project, I was a little skeptical.  How could my DNA help scientists trace my ancestors migratory routes?  National Geographic's website  helped answer some of my questions and instructed me on how to get one of the $99 DNA kits. ordered two kits in August -- one for myself and one for my father.  The kit offers two different tests.  The first is for mitochondrial DNA, which is the part of your DNA passed on from your mother. This DNA remains mostly intact from generation to generation.  Men also have the option of a Y-Chromosome test. The Y-Chromosome is only found in male DNA. Since my test would only trace my ancestors through the females on my mother's side of the family, I asked my father to help out. He and I mailed our DNA samples back in early September and then the waiting began. I think my dad checked the website for results every day! We were both very excited to find out what National Geographic was able to dig up. It took six weeks before we received any results. The day the website revealed our results was like Christmas. The information National Geographic provided is far more in depth than I had imagined. The results were also a bit surprising! I learned that I am part of 'Haplogroup K.'  A haplogroup is the term scientist use to group people with similar DNA results together on a global family tree. My father is part of Haplogroup R1B. His ancestors traveled from Africa through central Europe and into Ireland and Spain. My migratory route ended in Scandanavia. This information was very fascinating and prompted my father and me to take our search for family answers a little further...."

Have your own DNA tested ($99 fee) 

Second mummified body discovered in Lancaster in last month (lancasteronline.com)

"For the second time in little more than a month, city police were summoned to a Lancaster home to find a mummified body. This time the body was of a man known to very few in his North Mulberry Street neighborhood. A first-floor neighbor in the three-apartment building in the 200 block of North Mulberry Street said through his door Saturday evening that he called police around 4 a.m. because a large swarm of flies was covering the ceiling and hallway of the building. The man, who declined to be identified, said he knew who the man was, but never talked to him. Police and the coroner arrived to find the mummified man in his third-floor apartment. Saturday evening, the window of the apartment remained open. Neighbors identified the man, but the Sunday News is withholding his name because relatives had not been notified, according to city police...." 

Five Salt Men mummies studied by UK team (chnpress.com)

"After months of negotiations between Iran’s Archeology Research Center and the British universities of Oxford and York, a team consisting of two archeologists from these universities came to Iran to study the salt mummies found in Zanjan’s salt mine, located in western Iran. So far, five mummies known as “Salt Men” have been discovered in Chehr Abad salt mine. Dr. Mark Pollard, professor of archeological science at Oxford University and Dr. Dan Brothwell, from the Department of Archeology, University of York, came to Iran last week by the invitation of Iran’s Archeology Research Center. The two experts, who are specialized in archeology, biology and paleontology, started their studies on the DNA samples of the five salt men and will concentrate their studies on the diet, health, and age of the mummies before death. According to Abolfazl Aali, head of the excavation team in Chehr Abad mine, this will be the start of a new phase of research on the salt men...."

More on the Salt Men Mummies

Peruvian archaeologist who discovered female Moche mummy to speak in Gainesville (gainesville.com)

"Peruvian archaeologist Régulo Franco is much in demand these days since his 2005 discovery of La Seora de Cao, a female mummy that offered new and startling insights into the lives of the Moche, a culture predating the Incas. It was a discovery that was big news among archaeologists and garnered a large and colorful display in the June 2006 issue of National Geographic. In his current visit to the United States, Franco has lectured at Yale and Harvard and tonight he makes a stop in Gainesville at Santa Fe Community College, where he can expect to see several familiar faces in the crowd. Franco is the director of the El Brujo (the Wizard) archaeological site on the northern coast of Peru. The highly tattooed mummy, found wrapped in thick layers of cotton, was buried with a gold crown in a place of honor in the temple with two large ceremonial war clubs, leading Franco to believe she was a person of power, a woman ruler in what was thought to be a society ruled by men. And this spring, a group of 18 students and four faculty members from SFCC, led by professor Stuart McRae, was able to visit the site and meet with Franco...."

Mummified body of Mary Queen of Scots' husband may be returned from Denmark to Scotland for burial (scotsman.com)

"...James Hepburn, the fourth Earl of Bothwell and husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned by the Danish king in the 16th century after fleeing Scotland after the arrest of his wife. He died, insane, after a decade chained up in a castle jail as a political prisoner, and his body is still kept in the vault of a nearby church. But MSPs have now joined the earl's descendants in calling for his remains to be brought back to Scotland for a proper burial. So far, the Scottish Executive has refused pleas to help, on the grounds that the repatriation is a "private matter". But last week, Ted Brocklebank, the MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife, urged ministers, including Jack McConnell, to bring pressure on the Danes to return Bothwell's body. His family, led by his direct descendant Sir Alastair Buchan-Hepburn, want to bury Bothwell in the grounds of his boyhood home, Crichton Castle in East Lothian.... Bothwell's mummified body is currently in the vault of Farevejle church on the Danish east coast, where it has been preserved in remarkably good condition in an atmosphere rich in sea salt. Until 1975, when the Danish royal family intervened after pleas from Bothwell supporters, it was on open display as a grisly tourist attraction...."

New Jersey settles case involving abused child whose mummified remains were found in Newark apartment basement (nj.com)

"The state has paid $7.5 million to the estate of Faheem Williams, the 7-year-old Newark boy whose mummified remains were found in the basement of a Newark apartment three years ago and whose death led to a massive overhaul of the state's child welfare system. The settlement with the estate of Faheem and two siblings amounts to the second-largest payout by the state Division of Youth and Family Services to settle a botched case. A settlement in a similarly scandalous case in South Jersey last year means the DYFS has paid $20 million to make good on its mistakes.... The Williams case shone a spotlight on major flaws at the DYFS, which closed its files on Faheem despite complaints that he had been abused. Two of his brothers were overlooked as well, a subsequent investigation determined. The brothers -- Raheem Williams and Tyrone Hill Jr. -- were discovered sick and emaciated in an adjacent room of the same basement where Faheem's corpse was found Jan. 5, 2003. They survived and are today living in foster care...."

Well-preserved natural mummy discovered near Shanghai (theepochtimes.com)

"An ancient corpse was unintentionally uncovered on a farm in Songjiang district in Shanghai when local farmers were leveling their farming land. The corpse was determined to be 500 years old and was well-preserved. Some of the corpse's joints are still moveable and his skin feels moist, soft, elastic and cold to the touch. According to a report by Beijing Science & Technology News on August 5, 2000, experts from Songjiang Museum of Shanghai determined that the grave opened by the excavating machine is likely an ancient grave. The corpse is a male wearing ancient clothes, and his body is well preserved. When Yang Kun, a staff member of Shongjiang museum, touched the corpse, he was shocked to find that the body was extremely cold. Yang claimed it felt as if he put his hands into a refrigerator. Yang found a commandment certificate in a pocket of the clothes. A commandment certificate is an identification document for Buddhists. When traveling, Buddhists go to a temple for lodging and they need to identify themselves using the certificate. The name on the certificate is Yang Fuxin. The certificate was issued in the 4th year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty, or in the year 1439. Experts preliminarily determined that that certificate belonged to the dead...."

Latest word: Notorious eBay mummy came from Scottish anatomy collection from 19th century (iht.com)

"Mummified human skeletal remains confiscated from the home of a woman who police say was trying to sell them on eBay likely came from a Scottish collection, authorities said. Police said Friday they have closed their investigation into the remains and do not plan to request criminal charges. The remains had been confiscated Oct. 10 after being spotted on the Internet auction Web site. A Michigan State University anthropologist determined that remains likely date from the early 19th century and were part of a collection of anatomical specimens from anatomist Allen Burns, the Times Herald reported. The collection has been housed at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The remains are from a child, probably between the ages of 6 and 9, Norman Sauer, an anthropology professor, told police in an e-mail. 'The medical mummy is clearly an important historical specimen and should be returned to the Burns Collection,' Sauer wrote. Lynn Sterling, of Port Huron, told police she obtained the remains from a friend who works in demolition and who said he found them in a Detroit school he helped demolish about 30 years ago...."

Siberian court rejects appeal of professor convicted of smuggling 51 corpses to von Hagens for plastination (rian.ru)

"A Siberian court rejected on Friday the appeal of a medical professor convicted of smuggling dozens of corpses to a controversial German anatomist. The presidium of the Novosibirsk regional court in western Siberia upheld the verdict of a lower court against Vladimir Novosyolov, who headed the region's forensic medical examination bureau. The professor, who denies charges of smuggling bodies to German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, had appealed against the lower court's verdict requiring him to pay a fine, demanding that the ruling be reversed and the criminal case against him closed. Investigations started in 2001, after the local prosecutor's office charged Novosyolov with the illegal shipment of 51 bodies to Dr von Hagens, who invented the plastination technique for conserving bodies, and developed of the Body Worlds exhibition of preserved corpses. On June 17, 2005, a Novosibirsk district court found Novosyolov guilty on charges of abuse of authority and sentenced him to pay a 35,000 rubles (about $1,220) fine. It was the third time the court has reviewed the case. During previous trials, held in November 2003 and July 2004, the judges acquitted the defendant, but prosecutors managed to convince higher courts to overrule the decisions in both cases...."

A possible gift to Spurlock Museum, mummified Egyptian hawk has imaging session at veterinary hospital (news-gazette.com)

"More than a couple dozen times a day, the imaging specialists at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital take high-tech X-rays of dogs, cats, horses, pot-bellied pigs, birds and lots of other animals. '"I've seen a tiger,' Sue Hartman, the senior imaging specialist at the hospital, said on Wednesday. 'We've seen a pelican. We've seen snakes. We've seen large turtles.' So a hawk coming in the door is no big deal. But a 2,500-year-old hawk – or more likely a kestrel, harrier or falcon – that's potentially an ancient Egyptian mummy is another matter. The mummified bird of prey imaged at the UI veterinary school Wednesday may end up as a gift from an alumnus to the university's Spurlock Museum. The museum routinely checks potential gifts for authenticity, although it doesn't normally use a veterinary hospital imaging lab to do so. 'We want to know what we're dealing with,' said Spurlock Director Douglas Brewer, himself an anthropologist who specializes in Egypt's Predynastic to Old Kingdom periods. In the case of the bird mummy, the images from the session will help establish its authenticity, but also may tell researchers things about its age, origin, purpose and more. Brewer got one of his questions answered Wednesday. From a microscope examination before the imaging session, he could tell there was a bird's head inside. But he wondered if the linen wrappings contained anything else, perhaps a mouse to feed the hawk in the afterlife...."