Thursday, August 31, 2017

Rainy Day. What to do?

That's easy.  Go back to the mummy museum. 

Nothing like this exists, at least as far as I know, anywhere else.  I am aware of mummies in Egypt, the Ice Man in Bolzano, Italy and some Incan mummies in Peru. And are they on display in glass cases?  These mummies, however, are rather recent dating from around the turn of the century, 1900 that is.  Remember that these mummies were totally unintentional because the "dry" air and certain substances in the soil that delayed decomposition.  They were removed because no one had paid the "rent" on the burial space which were mausoleum vaults.  Only a few were in a casket and placed in the ground.  So it's all very confusing to me.  Why are they so well preserved if they weren't in the soil and the air is not so very dry?


 This lady's feet are tied together with twine and her stockings are down around her ankles.  I have to guess that the stockings were in place on her upper legs upon burial and ended up there when she was stood up for display.  I can't guess what the twine is doing there, except holding her feet together so her legs aren't splayed and hold her up, but it must have been added later.


This gentleman had a full beard that is still present.  He's in remarkably good shape for a dead man.


 Since there is no one present at the museum to ask questions of, I am forced to guess why this fellow is wearing underwear.  And remarkably well preserved underwear it is. Other mummies are totally devoid of clothes and I can only assume what was left of their final attire fell to the ground in tatters as they were moved out of their burial chambers. But this guy is wearing a pair of undershorts that except for the color, look pretty darn good.  I reckon that his genitals were so "lifelike" that the curators decided he needed some cover.  I just don't think they found him like this.  His original shorts would have been in tatters and if still present would have fallen to the ground.  You'd think I'd be wondering about more metaphysical matters rather than the state of his shorts, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em.



 One of the few mummies in a coffin was this 76 year old lady in a nightgown and stockings.  Lots of questions.


 This gentleman, says the card, died of drowning.  Hence, they say, the "blue" tone to his skin and the evidence of water in the lungs.  But he's still got his shoes.  And did he drown in an accident of was it suicide?  I can only guess accident because he was in a Catholic Church graveyard, and they don't allow suicides.  The interesting thing about this museum is the number of questions that come to mind.

And another lady, whose last attire includes her best boots and stockings.  I wonder why leather and silk didn't decompose as much as the rest of her garments.  There was more than one mummy clad only in shoes and stockings.  The visit to the Museo de las Mumias reinforces my belief that I want to be cremated.

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