The Woman from Leuk (Switzerland)—Discovery, Conservation, and Interdisciplinary Investigations of a Seventeenth-Century Mummy

Alterauge, Amelie Sophie; Kniep, Annette; Volken, Marquita; Lösch, Sandra (2019). The Woman from Leuk (Switzerland)—Discovery, Conservation, and Interdisciplinary Investigations of a Seventeenth-Century Mummy. Historical archaeology, 53(3-4), pp. 740-761. Springer 10.1007/s41636-019-00193-9

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During the excavation of St. Stephan’s Church in Leuk (Switzerland) in the 1980s, a wellpreserved mummy with clothing and shoes was found in a wooden coffin. Subsequently, the Mummy underwent restoration, but the observations have never been published. Therefore, an interdisciplinary Investigation was recently organized that included a thorough archaeological and anthropological documentation in collaboration with specialists in costume history and leatherworking. The aim was to gather evidence for the dating and preservation mechanism, as well as to determine the biological profile of the individual. The investigation was accompanied by a noninvasive examination
with a mobile x-ray device, which enabled identification of sex, age, Body height, and pathologies. The clothing (cape, blouse, skirt, drawers) and the shoes were subjected to a detailed stylistic and technological examination. The individual is female, aged 45–60 years, with foot deformities that might be related to constricting footwear. Stylistic details of the shoes indicate that the burial dates from the first half of the 17th century, more precisely to the 1630s. Despite her simple clothing, the burial location attests to her respected position in society.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Anthropology

UniBE Contributor:

Alterauge, Amelie Sophie, Lösch, Sandra

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
900 History > 940 History of Europe

ISSN:

2328-1103

Publisher:

Springer

Language:

English

Submitter:

Sandra Lösch

Date Deposited:

28 Aug 2019 10:32

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:30

Publisher DOI:

10.1007/s41636-019-00193-9

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.132631

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/132631

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