The natural mummies of Comiso (Sicily)

1. Introduction Collections of mummies are frequently found in Italy, in particular in the central and southern regions. The burials date from the medieval period, through the Renaissance and up to modern times. Sicily houses the most numerous collections of mummified corpses, like the bodies in the Catacombs of the Capuchin Friars in Palermo (16th-19th century) and the mummies of Savoca (16th century). In Comiso (Ragusa) the mortuary chapel annexed to the church of Santa Maria della Grazia, built in the 18th century by the Capuchin friars, is called ‘the Chapel of the Dead’ because contains 107 skulls, some of which have been mummified, on horizontal niches. Moreover 50 mummified bodies lie in niches opened in the right and left lateral walls and above the entrance (fig. 1). These individuals, all males of varying ages, belonged to the friars of the Third Order of Capuchins (right wall) and to the religious families linked to them (left wall). All the mummies wear monastic clothes and are most of all dating back to the 18th century, while twenty bodies are labelled with the individual’s name and date of death; the earliest reported date is 1742, the most recent 1838. 2. Materials and methods The bodies have not undergone any treatment, whether evisceration or craniotomy. Their natural mummification is probably due to the hot dry climate of Comiso associated with the position of the bodies. We registered all 50 mummies and the 107 skulls with detailed descriptions, we performed an autopsy on each body and took samples from them. We had the monastic dress repaired, after which the mummies were replaced in their niches. We photographed the original positions of all the bodies, their state of preservation and the autopsies. We performed anthropological, histological and immunohistochemical study on some bodies. 3. Results Preliminary paleopathological study allows us to find some pathological conditions, such as atherosclerosis, splenomegaly, pulmonary nodules, acariasis and thyroid enlargement (table 1). The provincial Bernardino del Comiso, who died in 1742 at the approximate age of fifty, was affected by severe arteriosclerosis with calcifications of the lumbar aorta and iliac arteries. A 35-year-old anonymous man presents an enormous enlargement in the anterior part of the neck (fig. 2A); histological studies showed the presence of numerous semicircular clumps surrounded by fibrous tissue, varying from 50-250 µm. Their homogeneous content was positive on PAS stain and immunohistochemistry revealed strong reactivity for the thyroglobulin antibody (fig. 2B). These features are compatible with the diagnosis of a colloid goiter. Another man of about 45 years of age suffered from massive splenomegaly with infarctual areas but it was not possible to identify the etiology. A man aged 30-35 showed pulmonary fibrosis with multiple, apical calcifications probably due to tuberculosis. Another individual, who died at about 60 years of age, displayed diffuse skin acariasis, treated "in vita" by sulphur ointments, with hyperkeratosis and abundant eggs, nymphs and mites at different stages of development still in situ. There are also a case of colon dìverticulosis, two cases of inguino-scrotal hernia and a case of varicose veins, with ulcers, of the lower limbs. 4. Conclusions This very important collection of mummies, whose study is still in progress, shows a numerous amount of pathological conditions. Future paleohistological, paleogenetic and entomological researches will be adopted to investigate this religious community. Also, historical and archival studies will be crucial to understand the habits of life, the environment and the causes of death of these men and also to highlight the sanitary measures adopted in case of illness and contagious diseases in the Sicily in the 18th and 19th century. 5. References 1. Amadei A, Fornaciari G. 1996. Le mummie della Chiesa di Santa Maria della Grazia in Comiso, Ragusa (XVIII-XLX secolo): dati antropologici, paleodemografici e paleonutrizionali. Archivio per l'Antropologia e la Etnologia 125, pp.141-163. 2. Ciranni R, Castagna M, Fornaciari G. 1999. Goiter in an eighteenth-century Sicilian mummy. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 108, pp. 427-432. 3. Fornaciari G, Gamba S. 1993. The mummies of the church of S. Maria della Grazia in Comiso, Sicily (18th-19th century). Paleopathology Newsletter 81, pp.7-10. 4. Ventura L, Fornaciari G, Leocata P, Colimberti P, Aloni C, Ventura T. 2000. Moltinodular goiter and pulmonary tuberculosis in a nineteenth-century Italian mummy. 13th European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association, Chieti 2000, vol. 1, p.309.