Mummies in Crypts and Catacombs

Abstract

There exist numerous crypts and catacombs in churches and cemeteries that harbor mummified human remains. Due to burial customs these are most frequently detected in European countries, mostly as the result of spontaneous (natural) mummification. Beyond those mummies, occasionally artificial mummification has led to permanently preserved bodies. These were performed as either dry or wet type of embalming. All mummified human bodies may represent