A fragrant grave - revealing the mummified remains of a 17th-century bishop
World Archaeology · March 2016
Per Lagerås
Bishop Peder Winstrup died in December 1679, aged 74, and was buried beneath Lund Cathedral. When, in 2014, it was decided that his coffin should be removed from
the crypt, a team of archaeologists took the opportunity to look inside. What they discovered surprised everyone: his clothes, his skin, and his hair were so perfectly preserved that he looked almost as if he were sleeping rather than having been dead for more than three centuries. But another shock awaited the team: the bishop was not alone. Secreted at his feet was the tiny body of a human foetus, probably a still-born baby. Winstrup and the baby lay on a bed of well-preserved plants, its pillows stuffed with herbs. Could these be the reason the remains looked so fresh? An interdisciplinary research team, directed by Per Karsten, Historical Museum at Lund University, was rapidly assembled to investigate.
Ah, Sam, you have an interest in archeology. So do I.