There are mummies in the world, not only in Egypt. There are mummies in Hungary, too, and they are real treasuries of information. Mummies have personal history behind. They are time travellers. What did they look like in their life? What did they eat? What illness did they suffer in and what did they die from? Why are mummies studied, and by whom? The exhibition on scientific bases, but still mysterious is looking for answers to the above questions.

The Enigma in the Crypt in Vác

The discovery of the finds was due to luck. In 1994, during the reconstruction works of the Church of the White Friars, a crypt was discovered, full of richly ornamented coffins.

265 naturally mummified bodies were discovered dressed in funeral garment. The coffins had not been disturbed for two-hundred years when they were found. Natural mummification was caused by the micro-climate in the crypt, and the method of burial.

The crypt was built in 1729-1731, and was used for burial for a century and a half. The door was walled up, and the existence of the crypt was soon forgotten. the excavation was performed by employees of the Tragor Ignác Museum, and a forensic anthropologist. Objects of the burial rite are located at the Tragor Ignác Museum, human remains are at the Anthropology Store of the Museum of Natural Sciences, with the permission of the Vác Eposcopate.

Mummies, the Treasuries of Information.

The scientific study of the finds from Vác was performed by anthropologists, radiologists, pathologists, dermatologists and microbiologists, not forgetting about enshrining the deceased.

During the researches, the international team did various examinations, among them DNA, radiology, histology, oral pathology, etc. The DNA studies found that several of the people died from lung disease. This result added to the studies of the spreading of tuberculosis on Hungary.