Mummies that are formed as a result of naturally-occurring environmental conditions, such as extreme coldness (
Ötzi the Iceman, the
Ice Maiden), acid (
Tollund Man),
salinity (
Salt Man), or desiccating dryness (
Tarim mummies), have been found all over the world. More than a thousand
Iron Age corpses, so called
bog bodies, have been found in
bogs in northern Europe, such as the
Yde Girl and the
Lindow Man.
[7] Natural mummification of other animal species also occurs; this is most common in species from shallow
saline water environments, especially those with a body structure which is particularly favourable to this process, such as
seahorses and
starfish. Old mummies such as the dinosaurs
Leonardo,
Dakota, and the
Trachodon mummy in America were very valuable discoveries.
Europe
Italy
Natural mummification is rare, requiring specific conditions to occur, but it has produced some of the oldest known mummies. The most famous ancient mummy is
Ötzi the Iceman, frozen in a
glacier in the
Ötztal Alps around 3300 BC and found in 1991. Also in the
Umbria region mummies were discovered in 1805
[1] in
Ferentillo. These are twenty natural mummies, the most ancient of which dates four centuries and the most recent is from the 19th century.
Bog bodies
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