degrees Fahrenheit) with low humidity to reproduce natural mummification as it occurred in the Egyptian desert. One leg was used in a control study and placed in an oven at 40 degrees Celsius (4.4.

While Brier and Wade used a complete male body, Ruhli, head of the Swiss Mummy Project at the University of Zurich, used two legs which were severed from a female donor body. It's a unique project, the first of its kind,' Swiss anatomist and paleopathologist Frank Ruhli told Discovery News. 'We are trying to improve on that important experiment using the most up-to-date methods, such as radiological technology, magnetic resonance imaging and computer tomography. The experiment, which has been running for more than four months, takes inspiration from a 1994 study by Ronald Wade, director of Maryland's State Anatomical Board, and Bob Brier, one of the leading experts on mummies and Egyptology.ĭuring that study, Brier and Wade replicated for the first time Egyptian mummification using the tools and procedures of the ancient embalmers. One of the goals of the project is to find out how much the mummification process damages the DNA. Swiss researchers have succeeded in mummifying a body part using the salty recipe of the ancient Egyptians.

Egyptian natron salt