Conditions contributing to the natural mummification of corpses deposited below North Finnish churches
- Milton Núñez 1
- Tiina Vare 1
- Olalla López Costas 2
- Annemari Tranberg 1
- 1 Oulu University
- 2 Group Earth System Sciences. Facultade de Bioloxía Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Year of publication: 2021
Issue Title: Symposium in memoriam Arthur C. Aufderheide the scientist, the friend ( 1922-2013)
Issue: 22
Pages: 423-436
Type: Article
Abstract
The tradition of burying the members of the el ite beneath the floors of North Finnish churches has resulted in a number of naturally mummified remains. The practice began during the Catholic period, continuing and even intensifying after the Reformation until it was final ly prohibited in the early 19th century. Although the combination of low temperatures and good ventilation beneath the old unheated churches of northern Finland can be seen as the primary cause of corpse preservation, there were also a series of funerary customs and traditions that though unintentional, may have also contributed to mummification. We present the results of our recent work with the mummified remains of North Finnish churches and comment on the possible role of certain cult ural and funerary traditions to natural mummification processes.