Multidisciplinary analysis of a mummified cranium claimed to be that of a medieval execution victim

Abstract

This article presents a multidisciplinary analysis of a human skull with preserved soft tissue curated by a small museum in Boscastle, Cornwall, UK. The skull lacks a mandible and is coated in a black tar-like substance. Records left by a previous museum curator (now deceased) claimed the skull to be the head of a medieval execution victim. The skull was purportedly recovered from a London church that was destroyed during the Second World War where it had been kept in a carved oak box. If these details are correct, the skull would appear to have been venerated as a relic. The skull and box have been analysed using a range of techniques including computerised tomography, laser scanning, microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and radiocarbon dating. These analyses demonstrated the skull in fact to be that of an Egyptian mummy dating from the Ptolemaic period. Other instances have been noted of parts of Egyptian mummies being presented as European saintly relics, and the 'Boscastle skull' would appear to be an example of such. A wider point illustrated by the work presented here is that sufficient application of modern analytical techniques may reveal considerable information regarding human remains which otherwise have little or no provenance. This point strengthens arguments for the retention of such remains by curating institutions.

Protein aggregate formation permits millennium-old brain preservation

“…Only if one extends from natural mummification to deliberately preserved bodies, there is one example of preservation of the suspected brain tissue (and other soft tissue) dating around the same period. The 'Boscastle skull' had recently been dated to 361-112 BC (95.4% confidence interval OxCsal v4.17), the Ptolemaic period [58]. In the same paper, Smith et al [58] show CT brain images of two Egyptian mummies, the 'Hetep-Bastet' and 'Lady Hudson'.…”

“…The 'Boscastle skull' had recently been dated to 361-112 BC (95.4% confidence interval OxCsal v4.17), the Ptolemaic period [58]. In the same paper, Smith et al [58] show CT brain images of two Egyptian mummies, the 'Hetep-Bastet' and 'Lady Hudson'. But, these were deliberately preserved brains and not brain tissue surviving because of natural mummification.…”