Radiological and histological findings in ancient salt mummies from the salt mine of Douzlākh, Iran

Abstract

Computed tomography studies and histological analyses were performed on the mummified remains found in the Chehrābād salt mine in northwestern Iran. The ancient salt mummies are dated to the Achaemenid (550–330 BC) and Sassanid (3rd–7th century AD) time period and died in mining incidents. The aim of the study was to describe the radiological and histological findings of several ancient Iranian salt mummies with special interest in pathological and postmortem changes. The mummified remains show multiple traumatic alterations, such as fractures and signs of massive compression. Histological analyses can clearly differentiate soft tissue, however the preservation status is variable. These Iranian salt mummies are a rare example of the ancient Iranian population. The soft tissue and organs are well preserved, however in different degrees due to the varying conditions.

Discover the anatomy of the mummies: how imaging techniques contribute to understanding disease in the past

“…Although the systematic review only included published records in PubMed, the authors demonstrated that CT analyses might be used to confirm previous conventional studies of paleopathologies and eventually identify traumatic injuries. Moreover, consistent with other findings (Jackowski et al, 2008;Panzer et al, 2010;Öhrström et al, 2021), the authors demonstrated the prevalence the typical destruction of the nasal skeleton due to the removal of the brain and identified traumatic fractures as well as chronic degenerative changes of skeletal bones and arteriosclerosis were reported in a subfraction. Finally, general consensus has been expressed in favor of using three-dimensional visualization in mummy studies.…”

“…Finally, general consensus has been expressed in favor of using three-dimensional visualization in mummy studies. It is also worth mentioning that 14 records evaluated the presence of skeletal diseases (Jackowski et al, 2008;Panzer et al, 2010;Dalchow et al, 2012;Schamall et al, 2012;Schmidt et al, 2013;Saleem and Hawass, 2014;Fritsch et al, 2015;Márquez et al, 2015Márquez et al, , 2015Piombino-Mascali et al, 2015;Villa et al, 2015;Traversari et al, 2016;Beckett et al, 2020;Yatsishina et al, 2020;Öhrström et al, 2021), although some of them were heavily criticized (Beckett et al, 2020, Bianucci et al, 2021a, Bianucci et al, 2021b, Bianucci et al, 2021c. Of note, the majority of the records categorized in this subtheme, described and evaluated common and uncommon bone pathologies while Fritch and coworkers described severe rotator cuff arthropathy and rotator cuff impingement (Fritsch et al, 2015).…”