When people think of mummies it is usually ancient Egypt that springs to mind, but a new study suggests that Bronze Age Britons also mummified their dead.
Researchers have found evidence that ancient pre-Christian people across the UK used various 'exotic, bizarre and novel ways' to preserve bodies before burying them.
This may have included wrapping them in bandages, smoking them over fires, and burying them in peat bogs as well as removing internal organs to stop the bodies decaying.
Bronze Age Britons MUMMIFIED their dead: Analysis of 4,200-year-old bodies reveal ancient communities used 'exotic, bizarre and novel ways' to preserve corpses
Mummification appears to have been 'widespread' in Bronze Age Britain
Microbiological analysis of skeletons has revealed attempts at preservation
The UK used various 'exotic, bizarre and novel ways' to preserve bodies
This may have included wrapping them in bandages and removing organs
By Colin Fernandez for the Daily Mail
1 October 2015
Daily Mail
When people think of mummies it is usually ancient Egypt that springs to mind, but a new study suggests that Bronze Age Britons also mummified their dead.
Researchers have found evidence that ancient pre-Christian people across the UK used various 'exotic, bizarre and novel ways' to preserve bodies before burying them.
This may have included wrapping them in bandages, smoking them over fires, and burying them in peat bogs as well as removing internal organs to stop the bodies decaying.
Archaeologists have discovered the Bronze Age remains in a number of locations around Britain that show signs of mummification. Microscopic analysis of skeletons found at ancient sites, including those at Bradley Fen in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire (left) and Canada Farm, Dorset (right), show signs of attempts to preserve them before burial
The exact reason for why they did this is not known, but the practice appears to have been widespread according to archaeologists.
One theory is that the mummified bodies may have been used to 'prove' ancient Britons owned a particular field as the Bronze Age was a time of intense competition for agricultural land.
Dr Tom Booth, of Sheffield University, analysed skeletons at several Bronze Age burial sites dating from 2200 to 750BC.
He and colleagues from University College London and Manchester University, whose results are published in the journal Antiquity, found Bronze Age people took painstaking steps to preserve dead bodies at sites ranging from Kent, Dorset, Cambridge, Teesside and the Western Isles of Scotland.
He used microscopic analysis to compare how skeletons had been eroded by bacteria from various sites across the UK with the bones of the mummified bodies from a cave in Yemen and preserved in a bog in Roscommon, Ireland.
Archaeologists widely agree that the damp British climate is not favourable to organic materials and all prehistoric mummified bodies that may be located in the UK will have lost their preserved tissue if buried outside of a preservative environment such as a peat bog.
At Cladh Hallan, in Uist, archaeologists believe bodies were left in a peat bog to preserve them- and later retrieved.
The position of the bones suggests the bodies 'may have been wrapped' – although no trace of any bandages remain.
At Neat's Court, a site on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, bodies were believed to have been smoked. The yellowing of the bones is consistent with 'low-level heat treatment' to preserve them.
The yellowing of some bones, like those found at Neat's Court on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent (pictured), suggest they had been subjected to low level heat, possibly from attempts to smoke the body to preserve it
Archaeologists claim to have found evidence that in some burials the internal organs had been removed while the position of some of the bones suggest the bodies had also been wrapped up before being buried. The remains of a Bronze Age person found at Bradley Fen in Whittlesey is shown above
At Windmill Field, at Stockton-on-Tees, at Cnip Headland, the Isle of Lewis, and at Canada Farm, Dorset the archaeologists believe the technique used was 'evisceration' – removal of internal organs.
Dr Booth, now based at London's Natural History Museum, said: 'The problem archaeologists face is finding a consistent method of identifying skeletons that were mummified in the past – especially when they discover a skeleton that is buried outside of a protective environment.
'To help address this, our team has found that by using microscopic bone analysis archaeologists can determine whether a skeleton has been previously mummified even when it is buried in an environment that isn't favourable to mummified remains.
'We know from previous research that bones from bodies that have decomposed naturally are usually severely degraded by putrefactive bacteria, whereas mummified bones demonstrate immaculate levels of histological preservation and are not affected by putrefactive bioerosion.'
He added: 'The idea that British and potentially European Bronze Age communities invested resources in mummifying and curating a proportion of their dead fundamentally alters our perceptions of funerary ritual and belief in this period.'
Explaining why the bodies may have been preserved he suggested:'Leaving the body of a dead ancestor on some land would have been a way to legitimise your claim on that property.'
Mummification died out in Britain after the Bronze Age – although the practice was revived in 2011 when a British taxi driver, Alan Billis of Torquay, had his body mummified for a documentary.
The study has identified a number of sites around Britain where Bronze Age remains show signs of being treated before burial in an attempt to preserve them. These include Cnip Headland on the Isle of Lewis, Canada Farm in Dorset and Windmill Fields in Teeside, where bodies were free from bacteria that cause decomposition
Samples taken from bones at locations like Neat’s Court on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent (pictured) were examined by the researchers for signs of bacterial attack. They compared them with samples from bodies that are known to have been mummified and found they show similar levels of preservation
Dr Martin Smith, an archaeologist at Bournemouth University who was not involved in the study, said the findings could have profound implications for our understanding of Bronze Age communities.
He said: 'The impact of this work is potentially huge.
'In the past it has simply been assumed that the majority of prehistoric burials represent people who were placed in the ground shortly after they died.
'More complex and drawn out practices were only suggested if bones were found in a jumbled and disarticulated state.
'The results obtained by Tom Booth and colleagues call into question what was really going on with literally thousands of prehistoric burials.
Some of the most famous mummies in the world are found in Egypt (pictured), where mummification was a common practice among the Royal and wealthy elite. However, it appears the practice was used widely around the world at various times in history
'People may in fact have been retaining their dead 'ancestors' for generations before finally sealing them in graves. This then raises the question of how widespread such 'mummification' might also have been beyond Britain.
'Exactly how bodies were preserved is not clear, possibilities include smoking or deposition in bogs or alternatively removal of the abdominal organs followed by wrapping and storage in a relatively warm, dry place such as inside a house.
'Bronze Age people would have known that animals' flesh didn't spoil if the abdominal contents were removed and so this may have been applied to their own dead in order to slow down the process of decay.'
BRONZE AGE MUMMIFICATION
Lindow Man, who died between 2 BC and 119 AD and was found in a peat bog on Lindow Moss, Cheshire, is one of many bog bodies found throughout the British Isles and northern Europe
While mummified bodies have been found around Europe in the past, most appear to have been preserved due to natural processes after being buried in bogs or desiccated in the icy environment of the Alps.
However, studies of Bronze Age burials from several sites around Britain have shown signs that attempts were made to preserve them.
Among the practices that may have been used was evisceration, which is where the internal organs and the guts are removed to help prevent decomposition.
The researchers say in some cases the position of the bones suggests the bodies may have been wrapped in an attempt to protect them before burial.
Another technique would have been to cure dead bodies by smoking them over a fire.
Burying bodies in bogs, where the low oxygen environment and acidic water prevents tissues from decomposing, may also have been done deliberately before later being retrieved.
HOW TO CREATE A MUMMY
Researchers at the Democritus University of Thrace in Xanthi, Greece, have attempted to replicate the ancient mummifcation techniques used by the Egyptians.
They placed a donated human limb into a pine box on a layer of natron salt.
Natron was originally mined in ancient Egypt at Wadi Natrum and was an essential component of the mummification process.
For their study the scientists created 154lbs (70kg) artificial natron by combining sodium carbonate, bicarbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulphate.
They created a natron layer 4-inch (10cm) thick in the pine box and placed the leg on top before covering it with the rest of the natron.
This was then kept in a fume hood for 208 days, by which time it had mostly mummified.
In ancient Egypt, however, the dry air and heat would also have speeded the process up by helping dehydrate the tissues.
Researchers have found evidence that ancient pre-Christian people across the UK used various 'exotic, bizarre and novel ways' to preserve bodies before burying them.
This may have included wrapping them in bandages, smoking them over fires, and burying them in peat bogs as well as removing internal organs to stop the bodies decaying.
Bronze Age Britons MUMMIFIED their dead: Analysis of 4,200-year-old bodies reveal ancient communities used 'exotic, bizarre and novel ways' to preserve corpses
Mummification appears to have been 'widespread' in Bronze Age Britain
Microbiological analysis of skeletons has revealed attempts at preservation
The UK used various 'exotic, bizarre and novel ways' to preserve bodies
This may have included wrapping them in bandages and removing organs
By Colin Fernandez for the Daily Mail
1 October 2015
Daily Mail
When people think of mummies it is usually ancient Egypt that springs to mind, but a new study suggests that Bronze Age Britons also mummified their dead.
Researchers have found evidence that ancient pre-Christian people across the UK used various 'exotic, bizarre and novel ways' to preserve bodies before burying them.
This may have included wrapping them in bandages, smoking them over fires, and burying them in peat bogs as well as removing internal organs to stop the bodies decaying.
Archaeologists have discovered the Bronze Age remains in a number of locations around Britain that show signs of mummification. Microscopic analysis of skeletons found at ancient sites, including those at Bradley Fen in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire (left) and Canada Farm, Dorset (right), show signs of attempts to preserve them before burial
The exact reason for why they did this is not known, but the practice appears to have been widespread according to archaeologists.
One theory is that the mummified bodies may have been used to 'prove' ancient Britons owned a particular field as the Bronze Age was a time of intense competition for agricultural land.
Dr Tom Booth, of Sheffield University, analysed skeletons at several Bronze Age burial sites dating from 2200 to 750BC.
He and colleagues from University College London and Manchester University, whose results are published in the journal Antiquity, found Bronze Age people took painstaking steps to preserve dead bodies at sites ranging from Kent, Dorset, Cambridge, Teesside and the Western Isles of Scotland.
He used microscopic analysis to compare how skeletons had been eroded by bacteria from various sites across the UK with the bones of the mummified bodies from a cave in Yemen and preserved in a bog in Roscommon, Ireland.
Archaeologists widely agree that the damp British climate is not favourable to organic materials and all prehistoric mummified bodies that may be located in the UK will have lost their preserved tissue if buried outside of a preservative environment such as a peat bog.
At Cladh Hallan, in Uist, archaeologists believe bodies were left in a peat bog to preserve them- and later retrieved.
The position of the bones suggests the bodies 'may have been wrapped' – although no trace of any bandages remain.
At Neat's Court, a site on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, bodies were believed to have been smoked. The yellowing of the bones is consistent with 'low-level heat treatment' to preserve them.
The yellowing of some bones, like those found at Neat's Court on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent (pictured), suggest they had been subjected to low level heat, possibly from attempts to smoke the body to preserve it
Archaeologists claim to have found evidence that in some burials the internal organs had been removed while the position of some of the bones suggest the bodies had also been wrapped up before being buried. The remains of a Bronze Age person found at Bradley Fen in Whittlesey is shown above
At Windmill Field, at Stockton-on-Tees, at Cnip Headland, the Isle of Lewis, and at Canada Farm, Dorset the archaeologists believe the technique used was 'evisceration' – removal of internal organs.
Dr Booth, now based at London's Natural History Museum, said: 'The problem archaeologists face is finding a consistent method of identifying skeletons that were mummified in the past – especially when they discover a skeleton that is buried outside of a protective environment.
'To help address this, our team has found that by using microscopic bone analysis archaeologists can determine whether a skeleton has been previously mummified even when it is buried in an environment that isn't favourable to mummified remains.
'We know from previous research that bones from bodies that have decomposed naturally are usually severely degraded by putrefactive bacteria, whereas mummified bones demonstrate immaculate levels of histological preservation and are not affected by putrefactive bioerosion.'
He added: 'The idea that British and potentially European Bronze Age communities invested resources in mummifying and curating a proportion of their dead fundamentally alters our perceptions of funerary ritual and belief in this period.'
Explaining why the bodies may have been preserved he suggested:'Leaving the body of a dead ancestor on some land would have been a way to legitimise your claim on that property.'
Mummification died out in Britain after the Bronze Age – although the practice was revived in 2011 when a British taxi driver, Alan Billis of Torquay, had his body mummified for a documentary.
The study has identified a number of sites around Britain where Bronze Age remains show signs of being treated before burial in an attempt to preserve them. These include Cnip Headland on the Isle of Lewis, Canada Farm in Dorset and Windmill Fields in Teeside, where bodies were free from bacteria that cause decomposition
Samples taken from bones at locations like Neat’s Court on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent (pictured) were examined by the researchers for signs of bacterial attack. They compared them with samples from bodies that are known to have been mummified and found they show similar levels of preservation
Dr Martin Smith, an archaeologist at Bournemouth University who was not involved in the study, said the findings could have profound implications for our understanding of Bronze Age communities.
He said: 'The impact of this work is potentially huge.
'In the past it has simply been assumed that the majority of prehistoric burials represent people who were placed in the ground shortly after they died.
'More complex and drawn out practices were only suggested if bones were found in a jumbled and disarticulated state.
'The results obtained by Tom Booth and colleagues call into question what was really going on with literally thousands of prehistoric burials.
Some of the most famous mummies in the world are found in Egypt (pictured), where mummification was a common practice among the Royal and wealthy elite. However, it appears the practice was used widely around the world at various times in history
'People may in fact have been retaining their dead 'ancestors' for generations before finally sealing them in graves. This then raises the question of how widespread such 'mummification' might also have been beyond Britain.
'Exactly how bodies were preserved is not clear, possibilities include smoking or deposition in bogs or alternatively removal of the abdominal organs followed by wrapping and storage in a relatively warm, dry place such as inside a house.
'Bronze Age people would have known that animals' flesh didn't spoil if the abdominal contents were removed and so this may have been applied to their own dead in order to slow down the process of decay.'
BRONZE AGE MUMMIFICATION
Lindow Man, who died between 2 BC and 119 AD and was found in a peat bog on Lindow Moss, Cheshire, is one of many bog bodies found throughout the British Isles and northern Europe
While mummified bodies have been found around Europe in the past, most appear to have been preserved due to natural processes after being buried in bogs or desiccated in the icy environment of the Alps.
However, studies of Bronze Age burials from several sites around Britain have shown signs that attempts were made to preserve them.
Among the practices that may have been used was evisceration, which is where the internal organs and the guts are removed to help prevent decomposition.
The researchers say in some cases the position of the bones suggests the bodies may have been wrapped in an attempt to protect them before burial.
Another technique would have been to cure dead bodies by smoking them over a fire.
Burying bodies in bogs, where the low oxygen environment and acidic water prevents tissues from decomposing, may also have been done deliberately before later being retrieved.
HOW TO CREATE A MUMMY
Researchers at the Democritus University of Thrace in Xanthi, Greece, have attempted to replicate the ancient mummifcation techniques used by the Egyptians.
They placed a donated human limb into a pine box on a layer of natron salt.
Natron was originally mined in ancient Egypt at Wadi Natrum and was an essential component of the mummification process.
For their study the scientists created 154lbs (70kg) artificial natron by combining sodium carbonate, bicarbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulphate.
They created a natron layer 4-inch (10cm) thick in the pine box and placed the leg on top before covering it with the rest of the natron.
This was then kept in a fume hood for 208 days, by which time it had mostly mummified.
In ancient Egypt, however, the dry air and heat would also have speeded the process up by helping dehydrate the tissues.
Last edited: