Mummies of Guanajuato: the sad story of the cholera epidemic in Mexico. Guanajuato Mummies Museum: Naturally Preserved Bodies (Mexico) Man Gallah, Ireland

The museum can be found in almost every city. Museums often display works of art, works famous masters And so on. But some museums contain completely different exhibits. Looking at them, a person experiences horror, interest and craving for the supernatural. One of these institutions is the museum. screaming mummies located in the small Mexican town of Guanajuato.

Guanajuato is located in the central part of Mexico, 350 kilometers from the capital. In the sixteenth century, the Spaniards conquered these lands from the Aztecs, after which they founded Fort Santa Fe on them. This land attracted the Spaniards because the most valuable mines were located on it, in which it was possible to extract tons of gold and silver.

History of the city of Guanajuato

The Aztecs called the area described above Kuanas Huato, which means "a place where frogs live among the hills." When the Spaniards conquered the lands, they renamed them and began to extract gold from them for the king. In the eighteenth century, the precious mines were almost completely depleted. Gold miners turned their attention to silver, of which there was still plenty left in the mines. For several centuries, the Spanish town was considered the richest and most profitable. It was decorated in every possible way with architecture, which has partially survived to this day.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, Mexico gained independence, thanks to which ordinary peasants were able to get rid of their colonial status. Since then, a lot has changed: the government has established new orders, carried out reforms, and so on. Only one thing has remained unchanged: the desire of the rich to increase their incomes. Taxes have risen steadily. Since 1865, even places in the cemetery have become paid, which was especially dissatisfied with ordinary people. Now, if they didn’t pay for a place in the cemetery, after five years the body of the deceased was exhumed and transferred to the basement. If the relatives were able to pay off a huge debt, the body was returned to the grave.

The victims of the new law were the lonely dead

The bodies of the dead, who simply had no relatives, were the first to suffer. The second to suffer were those whose relatives could not pay a huge fee by the standards of that time. At first, the bones of the exhumed lay peacefully in basements. Then the enterprising owners of the cemetery decided to make "museums" out of the cellars, visiting which one could "enjoy" the most terrible exhibits. Since 1969, terrible exhibits have been shown to eyewitnesses openly, without hiding from law enforcement agencies. The cellars were combined into a single museum, which received official status.

Creepy remains of unfortunate people

The number of bodies to be exhumed was incredibly huge. Far from all those "expelled from the cemetery" were transferred to the museum. Only the most terrible bodies were selected there, which could attract attention and at the same time shock wealthy visitors. Only those corpses were placed behind the glass of the museum, which did not decompose during their stay in the grave, but naturally turned into mummies. It should be noted that in Mexico the dead were not embalmed on purpose, since this was costly and wrong from the point of view of religion.

The most famous "flashy" exhibits

The first and most famous exhibit spooky museum is the body of Dr. Remigo Leroy, who during his lifetime was quite rich. Unfortunately, he did not have relatives left who could pay for a place in the cemetery, so he was exhumed, despite financial condition. They dug up Leroy in 1865. The body was originally designated as "Storage Unit No. 214".

On the exhibit described above, you can see the suit in relatively good condition. It is sewn from expensive fabric, which is why it has been preserved for so long. Most of the "screaming" exhibits do not have clothes, as they simply rotted in due time. Some of the robes were confiscated by museum workers, commenting on the fact that they carry too much death. The disgusting aroma could not be killed with chemicals.

The people whose remains can now be seen in the museum in Guanajuato died for various reasons. Some were killed by the cholera epidemic in 1833, others died from occupational diseases of the miners. In addition, there are the remains of those who died a natural death from old age. The most interesting thing is that there are much more women in this museum than men. In those days, the fair sex had a more difficult life.

Scientists were unable to identify all the remains, but they did establish the identity of some. For example, the remains of Ignacia Aguilar. This woman during her lifetime was a decent mother, a good wife and mistress. When her body was exhumed, they were very frightened, as she was lying in a strange position: her hands were pressed to her face, and her clothes were pulled up. The researchers suggested that she was buried alive, confusing death with lethargic sleep. Blood clots were found in Ignasia's mouth. Most likely, she woke up already in a coffin, tried to get out, and when she realized that it was useless, in a panic and from lack of air, she tore her mouth with her hands.

No less sad was the fate of another interesting exhibit, also a woman who was strangled. Fragments of the rope remained around her neck, which was not even removed from her during the funeral. Museum workers say that at the other end of the room there is the severed head of her husband, who turned out to be a murderer, for which he was executed.

It should be noted that open mouths, supposedly screaming, are not always a sign of death in terrible agony. Even a calmly deceased person can get such a frightening expression on his face if his jaw is tied up badly.

Some of the mummies that frighten visitors to world capitals today were found thousands of years ago. As for the mummies of the Mexican city of Guanajuato, they ended up in the museum after only a few centuries.

In the period from 1865 to 1958, residents of the city, whose relatives rested in the local graves, were obliged to pay a tax. If someone evaded payment for three years in a row, then the bodies of his loved ones were immediately dug up.

Due to the fact that the soil in this region of Mexico was extremely dry, the corpses looked more like well-preserved mummies. The first mummy to be dug up is the body of Dr. Leroy Remigio, which was found on June 9, 1865. The dug up bodies were kept in a crypt in the cemetery, and relatives could still ransom the corpse. This practice lasted until 1894, until enough bodies accumulated in the crypt to open a museum of mummies in Guanajuato.

In 1958, residents stopped paying tax for a place in the cemetery, but they decided to leave the mummies in the crypt, which soon became a local landmark and began to be popular with tourists. Yes, initially travelers came directly to the crypt to see the bodies of mummies, but soon the collection of the dead became exhibits of a separate museum.

Since all mummies were formed naturally, they look much more terrifying than embalmed bodies. It is noteworthy that the mummies of Guanajuato, with their bony and distorted faces, are still dressed in the attire in which they were buried.

Perhaps the most shocking exhibits of the mummy museum for visitors will be the buried body of a pregnant woman and the wrinkled bodies of children. The museum also houses the smallest mummy on the planet, which is no bigger than a loaf of bread.

On this moment it is not known exactly how the corpse, having been buried for more than a century, could have been so successfully preserved. As already mentioned, scientists suggest that the reason for this is the characteristics of the local soil, but there is also an opinion that the local climate contributed to the mummification of corpses.

The museum has a shop selling sugar skulls, stuffed mummies, and black humor postcards in Spanish.

Perhaps everyone at least once in their life has seen some kind of horror movie in which the walking dead attack people. These sinister dead excite the human imagination. But in fact, mummies do not pose any danger, but have incredible scientific value. In our review, one of the most incredible archaeological finds of our time is the mummies of Guanajuato.

The Mummies of Guanajuato are a collection of naturally mummified bodies buried during an outbreak of cholera in Mexican Guanajuato in 1833. These mummies were discovered in the city's cemetery, making Guanajuato one of the top tourist attractions in Mexico. True, the attraction is very creepy.

Mummies at the Guanajuato Museum

Scientists believe that the bodies were exhumed between 1865 and 1958. At that time, a new tax was introduced, according to which the relatives of the deceased had to pay a tax for a place in the cemetery, otherwise, the body was exhumed. As a result, ninety percent of the remains were exhumed, because there were few willing to pay such a tax. Of these, only two percent of the bodies were naturally mummified. Mummified bodies, which were kept in a special building at the cemetery, became available to tourists in the 1900s.

mummy child

Cemetery workers began letting visitors in for a few pesos to enter the building where the bones and mummies were stored. The site was later turned into a museum called El Museo De Las Momias ("Mummy Museum"). A law banning forced exhumation was passed in 1958, but the original mummies are still on display in this museum.

Mummy's hand from Guanajuato

The mummies of the Mexican city of Guanajuato are the result of weather and soil conditions in which mummification occurs. The bodies of dead people who were not taken away for burial by relatives often became public exhibits. During epidemics, bodies were buried immediately after death to prevent the spread of the disease. Scientists believe that some people were buried while still alive, and that is why, an expression of horror is imprinted on their faces. But there is another opinion: facial expression is the result of post-mortem processes.

Mummy of Ignatia Aguilar

At the same time, it is known that a certain Ignatia Aguilar, indeed, was buried alive. The woman suffered from a strange disease, due to which her heart stopped several times. During one of the attacks, her heart seemed to stop for more than a day. Believing that Ignatia had died, her relatives buried her. When the exhumation was carried out, it turned out that her body was lying face down, and the woman was biting her hand, and there was baked blood in her mouth.

Mummy from the Guanajuato Museum

The museum, which has at least 111 mummies on display, is located directly above the site where the mummies were first discovered. IN this museum also houses the smallest mummy in the world - the fetus of a pregnant woman who fell victim to cholera. Some of the mummies are exhibited in the preserved clothes in which they were buried. The mummies of Guanajuato are a notable part of the Mexican folk culture, perfectly emphasizing the national holiday "Day of the Dead" (El Dia de los Muertos).

Some of the mummies that frighten visitors to world capitals today were found thousands of years ago. As for the mummies of the Mexican city of Guanajuato, they ended up in the museum after only a few centuries. In the period from 1865 to 1958, residents of the city, whose relatives rested in the local graves, were obliged to pay a tax. If someone evaded payment for three years in a row, then the bodies of his loved ones were immediately dug up.

Due to the fact that the soil in this region of Mexico was extremely dry, the corpses looked more like well-preserved mummies. The first mummy to be dug up is the body of Dr. Leroy Remigio, which was found on June 9, 1865. The dug up bodies were kept in a crypt in the cemetery, and relatives could still ransom the corpse. This practice lasted until 1894, until enough bodies accumulated in the crypt to open a museum of mummies in Guanajuato.

In 1958, residents stopped paying tax for a place in the cemetery, but they decided to leave the mummies in the crypt, which soon became a local landmark and began to be popular with tourists. Yes, initially travelers came directly to the crypt to see the bodies of mummies, but soon the collection of the dead became exhibits of a separate museum.

Since all mummies are formed naturally, they look much more terrifying than embalmed bodies. It is noteworthy that the mummies of Guanajuato, with their bony and distorted faces, are still dressed in the attire in which they were buried.

Perhaps the most shocking exhibits of the mummy museum for visitors will be the buried body of a pregnant woman and the wrinkled bodies of children. The museum also houses the smallest mummy on the planet, which is no bigger than a loaf of bread.

At the moment, it is not known exactly how the corpse, having been buried for more than a century, could have been so successfully preserved. As already mentioned, scientists suggest that the reason for this is the characteristics of the local soil, but there is also an opinion that the local climate contributed to the mummification of corpses.

The museum has a shop selling sugar skulls, stuffed mummies, and black humor postcards in Spanish.

Extremely cold, very dry regions and swamps are where bodies naturally mummify and are sometimes found thousands of years later.

In the case of the Guanajuato mummies, subjects only had to wait a few hundred years and were not so much opened as evicted. From 1865 to 1958 in the city of Guanajuato, Mexico, relatives were required to pay a huge tax for the dead. When relatives have not done this for three years in a row, their dead relatives were dug up and transported to other burial places.

Oddly enough, due to the extremely dry soil conditions, the corpses often turned into well-preserved mummies. (The first to be dug up and found mummified was Dr. Remigio Leroy. His body was removed from the ground on June 9, 1865.) The cemetery staff kept these strange mummies in an underground crypt in case relatives showed up with money and demanded reburial. By 1894, enough mummified bodies had gathered in the crypt. The cemetery staff decided to rename this place a museum.

Although the practice of paying for burial sites ended in 1958 (three years before the first man flew into space), the mummies continued to be kept in the local crypt-museum. In 1970, the Mexican horror film "Santo vs. the Mummies of Guanajuato" was filmed there, in which leading role starred Rodolfo Guzman Huerta. As the mummies gained notoriety, they began to attract interested visitors. For many years they were kept simply in crypts, but today they are housed in more formal museum display cases.

Since the mummies were created naturally, they look more terrible than the Egyptian ones. With haggard and twisted faces, often covered in the tattered rags in which they were buried, the mummies stand and lie in glass cases throughout the museum.

Perhaps most shocking to visitors are the pregnant mummy and shrunken baby mummies, including "the world's smallest mummy" that is no bigger than a loaf of bread. It is still unknown why there are so many in the cemetery natural mummies, and year after year this place is overgrown with superstitions about them. There is a widespread belief that mummification is a divine punishment for deeds committed during life.

The museum has a gift shop that sells sugar skulls and stuffed mummies, as well as grotesque postcards featuring mummies and joking anecdotes in Spanish.

Good to know

If you take the city bus (with the sign "Las Mumias"), ask the bus driver to indicate the street that leads to the museum. You will go up until you see a large stone wall with no windows. To go straight to the museum, turn right and walk to the end of this wall. Then you will see many souvenir stands. Turn left and walk until you find the ticket office. If you want to visit the cemetery first, don't turn to the big stone wall, but instead go up the hill a little more and you will see the entrance on the right. The cemetery is worth seeing if you like that sort of thing. You cannot enter the museum from the cemetery. you will have to cross to the other side and go down below - the museum is actually located under the cemetery!

Do not plan to visit this place as part of sightseeing tour, otherwise there simply won't be enough time to appreciate these horrible corpses. Instead, make sure you have at least an hour or two to walk around the cemetery.