Sicily Mummy Project - Progetto Mummie Siciliane

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The purpose of this school is to provide a firsthand understanding of mummy studies, but more specifically in Sicilian context of religious mummies. Students will spend approximately one week living and studying in a renovated convent, the Capuchin Convent and the annexed church in the village of Santa Lucia del Mela, Sicily. They will also visit crypts and catacombs in Palermo and the village of Piraino also located on the main island of Sicily. They students will participate in visual assessment of mummy preservation at these three locations. They will visit Sicily's newest "saint" (the Blessed Antonio Franco, 26 September 1585 – 2 September 1626), and learn how scientists are involved in the conservation and preservation of religiously significant people. Of utmost importance will be the need for all participants to follow the rules for human remains set up by the Sicily Cultural Heritage Department. They will have freedom to do visual examination of the mummies, but we will not do any invasive examination of the corpses. Students will attend lectures on a variety of topics related to mummification including cultural and biological aspects. Biological lessons include taphonomy of human body as well as intrinsic and extrinsic factors of decomposition and forensic entomology. Cultural aspects include crypt archaeology, cult of the dead in Sicilian Catholicism, the role of sacred mummies in society, and architecture design related to mummification & preservation. Demonstrations of specialized studies including, X-ray and CT scanning, paleopathology, facial reconstruction and microscopic study of dietary remains will also be provided as part of the curriculum.