(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists said that the remains of 41 of the 163 children, whose burials were found in the catacombs of the Capuchin Order, will soon be carefully studied using X-rays. The research will be carried out by experts from the University of Staffordshire.
They will try to establish who exactly these buried children were and what caused them to die at such an early age. Some of the children’s bodies were mummified, while the skeletons of others remained in good condition. The secrets of these remains have been carefully hidden for two centuries.
In the world famous tomb, which is located in the city of Palermo, which is located in the northern part of the island of Sicily, experts have discovered only 1284 bodies. 163 of them belong to children. Some of the bodies were previously mummified, while others naturally decomposed down to the bone. It is worth noting that this find has become the largest collection of mummies found in Europe.
The research team is led by Kirsty Squires of Staffordshire University. It has already been established that the children were buried in this tomb in 1787-1880. At the same time, scientists cannot name the personalities of these children, the reasons for their death, tell at least approximately the history of the diseases. The reason for this is that the labels with descriptions that were attached to the bodies of the dead have long since been erased.
Experts are going to take quite a lot of X-ray shots of bodies from several different angles. They hope that in this way it will be possible to establish the cause of death.
Previously, in these catacombs, only monks of the Capuchin order were supposed to be buried. After a while, they became a very popular place for tourists who came from different parts of the country to look at the local very gloomy landmark.
For the first time, monks began to live in the church of Santa Maria della Pace back in 1534. After some time, they made a separate grave for the dead. After it was completely filled, the dead began to be sent to a separate crypt, in order to then bury them all in a mass grave.
When it came to transferring bodies, the monks found 45 remains that were naturally mummified. The faces of the deceased could be recognized, so they were placed along the corridor in a new grave in special niches. Beginning in 1787, local residents, as well as children, could be buried in the catacombs.
In one of the ancient cities of Vulci, which is located in the central part of Italy, archaeologists have discovered an Etruscan helmet. Inside it is a cryptic inscription that could provide entirely new information regarding the military organization that characterized this ancient pre-Roman civilization.
It is worth noting that some moments from the history of this people remain a secret until today, and therefore scientists use every opportunity to obtain additional information.
The Etruscans are an ancient people who live in the northwestern part of the Apennine Peninsula. This civilization experienced its peak in the 6th century BC.
The helmet, which the specialists managed to find, was made of bronze in the 4th century BC. It was discovered quite by accident in 1928, but then archaeologists did not see absolutely no inscription inside the helmet. Only 90 years later it was possible to see the letters.
The inscription inside the artifact is composed of seven letters HARN STE. Archaeologists believe that it can talk about exactly where the object came from or mean the name of the helmet, or even the abbreviated name of its owner.
The inscription discovered by specialists plays an incredibly important role, because it is she who can help to reconstruct the military organization on the Italian peninsula until the moment when it was subject to the hegemony of Rome. In addition, the researchers plan to trace exactly how the art of war has evolved.
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