'Mummies: The dream of everlasting life' exhibition in Italy

‘Mummies: The dream of everlasting life’ opened last week at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy. The exhibition includes a display of over 60 mummies, both human and animal, from all over the world, providing an insight into mummification from prehistory to the present day. Mummification is a phenomenon which occurred, and still occurs today, in different periods in time and in places all over the world. The mummies on display range from bog bodies discovered in northern Europe, to an Egyptian mummy complete with its sarcophagus, to mummies from Asia, Oceania and South America and include naturally mummified bodies, as well as mummies which are the result of human intervention. The main feature of the exhibition is the body of the 5,300 year-old Iceman Oetzi, discovered in the Alps in 1991. The mummies are displayed along with artefacts used in rituals and thus showcased in their cultural context. Interactive features also complete the exhibits with information on the origins, living conditions, nutrition and illnesses of the mummies, which extensive research and examination of the cadavers has revealed...