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 (CHN)
-- Anthropological studies on the discovered mummy in
Shahdad city of Kerman province proved it to belong to a
premature infant mummified under natural processes,
despite otherwise suggestions by forensic experts.
Archaeologists estimate the skeleton to belong to at least
400 years ago.
Two months ago the illegal excavations in the historical
fortress of Gudiz in Kerman province near Shahdad city,
which dates back to the Sassanid era, led to the discovery
of a 25-centimeter corpse which came to be known as the
mummified dwarf. The discovery brought a lot of questions
to archaeologists and forensic studies estimated that the
corpse which is 20-25 centimeters high must have been
16-17 years old at the time of death.
“The skeleton belongs to a premature baby who, due to
regional conditions and its burial method, has been
mummified under natural processes,” says Farzad
Forouzanfar, an anthropologist of the Cultural Heritage
and Tourism Organization of Iran.
According to Forouzanfar, previous to this, some other
mummies were also discovered in Kerman province. He says
that whenever a corpse is exposed to some special climate
conditions, it will dry out and naturally mummify.
“The skeleton was found next to a cemetery belonging to
the Seljuk era (900 years ago), but archaeologists believe
that it should date back to the late Islamic period.
People lived in the region up to the Safavid era, but as
there is no article or inscription alongside the mummy,
determining the exact date of his burial is impossible,”
said Nader Alidadi Soliemani, archaeologist of the
Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Kerman
province.
The discovery of this dwarf corpse, which was planned to
be sold for more than three million U.S. dollars in
Germany by two smugglers arrested by Kerman police forces,
and the short height of the remained walls discovered in
the area raised the hypothesis of a buried dwarf city in
the area; however, archaeologists opposed the idea from
the beginning. This mummified dwarf caused great
sensations among the public during the last 2 months, but
now the dwarf is proven to be a premature baby and the
mystery is solved.
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