Health Risks in Mummified Remains Trade Raise Concerns

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‘Real mummy’s curse’: health warning over growing trade in mummified human remains | Archaeology | The Guardian Skip to main content Skip to navigation It is believed a form of aspergillosis from inhaling spores during the exploration of King Tutankhamun’s tomb (above) may have contributed to the death of Lord Carnarvon. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen It is believed a form of aspergillosis from inhaling spores from inhaling spores during the exploration of King Tutankhamun’s tomb (above) may have contributed to the death of Lord Carnarvon. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images ‘Real mummy’s curse’: health warning over growing trade in mummified human remains Academic paper says often illicit trade exposes enthusiasts – and postal workers handling items – to serious risks A growing global trade in mummified human remains has been described by academics as “a real mummy’s curse” that poses a serious health risk to its enthusiasts and the postal services they use. Research into the secretive buying and selling of centuries-old human body parts including hands, feet and heads found alarming risks from dormant microorganisms and the toxic materials used to preserve the remains. A peer-reviewed academic article, The Real Mummy’s Curse: Health Risks Associated With the Sale and Trade of Mummified Remains, published in the International Journal of Cultural Property and online by Cambridge University Press, paints what the academics behind it describe as a “bleak picture”. A “semi-clandestine, often illicit” trade has been amplified in recent years through the use of social media, personal websites, e-commerce platforms and auction houses, but those involved appear to have little awareness as to how the living are being “exposed to various risks”, it says. “Isolated body parts, such as hands and feet, were most frequently identified, followed by whole mummified heads,” the paper’s authors write. “Over half of the sample, 51.6%, consisted of heads in varying states of completeness and preservation, including whole or partial mummified heads, skulls or crania with soft tissue and/or hair, and tsantsas, so-called shrunken heads produced by the Shuar people of northern Peru/eastern Ecuador.” Mummification practices, whether artificial or natural, involve complex chemical and physical processes intended to delay decomposition. A range of toxic materials and substances have been employed over time to preserve tissues, including heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, and lead. Mummified remains can harbour a wide variety of dormant microorganisms despite centuries of desiccation. Dormant fungal spores can become airborne when moved or disturbed, which pose health risks to the living, the academics warn. Inhalation of aspergillus spores was blamed for the deaths of 10 out of 12 of the conservation scientists who opened the tomb of King Casimir IV of Kraków, in modern-day Poland, in the 1970s, the paper notes. It is believed that a severe form of aspergillosis from inhaling spores may have also contributed to the death of Lord Carnarvon, the chief financial backer of the exploration of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Carnavon’s death in 1923 has been cited as proof of the myth that those who opened tombs would be cursed with bad luck, illness or death, otherwise known as the “mummy’s curse”. Kirsty Squires, a professor of human bioarchaeology at the University of Staffordshire, who worked with Dario Piombino-Mascali, Clara Urzì and Damien Huffer on the research, said traders appeared to have little awareness of the dangers. She said: “In some of the comments, they do make note of a mummy smell – which can be attributed to the biodeterioration of remains- yet some of the images uploaded show mummified remains that are not in protective cases but are exposed to the surrounding air, for example, in the room of a domestic dwelling which could be really dangerous. “When we were putting this paper together, there were some images of heavily deteriorated remains that were just on a stand with no glass cover. It didn’t look like it was temperature controlled, the appropriate storage conditions required for human remains.” The study found that it was not just those trading in human remains who were in danger. The academics write: “Given that postal and courier companies are being used to transport mummified human remains, warehouse workers, drivers, transportation hub workers and customs officials are all at risk as they are unlikely to wear the necessary [personal protection equipment] when they are initially in contact with these consignments.”

Research indicates that mummified remains can harbor dormant microorganisms, including fungal spores, which can become airborne when disturbed, posing health risks. The trade often involves the use of postal services for transport without adequate personal protection equipment.

A growing global trade in mummified human remains has been identified by academics as posing serious health risks due to dormant microorganisms and toxic materials used in preservation.

The risk is ongoing, as the trade has been amplified by social media and online platforms in recent years.

The risks are associated with the trade, transport, and handling of these items, including postal services and various auction houses and e-commerce platforms.

Academics and researchers studying the trade in mummified human remains, and postal/courier workers who handle these items.

The trade exposes enthusiasts and those handling the remains to risks from dormant microorganisms and toxic materials, prompting health warnings regarding potential exposure to spores like aspergillus.

‘Real mummy’s curse’: health warning over growing trade in mummified human remains.