Report from Our Correspondent (Anonymous Reporter) Recently, Professor Andreas Nerlich, a pathologist from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, led an international research team to complete a detailed study of a 280-year-old "air-dried priest" mummy in the basement of a church in the village of St. Thomas am Brasenstein, Upper Austria. The study has for the first time revealed an unrecorded coffin preservation technology, breaking the traditional understanding of European funeral embalming techniques in the 18th century and providing precious physical clues for the study of ancient European funeral history.
It is reported that this mummy, known locally as the "air-dried priest", was placed in a coffin in the church basement. Its identity was confirmed by radiocarbon dating and historical archives as Franz Xaver Sidler von Rosenegg. Born into nobility in 1709, this priest was sent to serve as a parish priest in St. Thomas am Brasenstein at the age of 31 and suddenly passed away in 1746 at the young age of 37. His body was placed in the basement of the local church and unexpectedly preserved to this day, becoming the source of a long-standing "miracle" legend in the area.
This study has overturned the long-circulating "poisoning legend". In 2000, researchers from the University of Vienna discovered a circular object about 1 centimeter in the lower left abdomen of the mummy through X-ray examination. At that time, it was speculated to be a "poison capsule", triggering speculation that the priest was poisoned. However, the latest research in 2025 shows that the object is actually a glass bead from the monk's clothing, which most likely accidentally fell into the abdominal cavity during embalming, not a poison container.
Through various methods such as CT scanning and partial autopsy, the research team discovered the core secret of the mummy's excellent preservation-a unique rectal filling embalming method. Unlike the traditional embalming method of opening the thoracic and abdominal cavities to remove internal organs, the thoracic and abdominal walls of this mummy are completely intact. Researchers extracted a large amount of fir and spruce wood chips, branch fragments, as well as linen, hemp, embroidered silk and other fabrics from its abdominal cavity, and also detected traces of zinc chloride, trace arsenic and copper. "All filling materials were inserted through the rectum, which not only absorbs body fluids and prevents trunk collapse, but also maintains the integrity of the body's appearance," Professor Nerlich stated in the research report, adding that this embalming method is the first of its kind ever discovered in human history.
Researchers speculate that the original intention of this special embalming treatment was to allow Sidler's body to be transported long distances back to his affiliated Waldhausen Abbey for burial. In 18th-century Europe, modern refrigeration technology was lacking. The antibacterial and drying effect of zinc chloride and the moisture-absorbing function of wood chips and fabrics could effectively delay the decay of the body, meeting the needs of long-distance transportation. However, due to traffic blockages caused by the War of the Austrian Succession or other unknown reasons, the transportation plan was ultimately not implemented, and the body has remained in the coffin in the church basement for 280 years.
In addition to the unique embalming technology, the study also identified Sidler's true cause of death. CT scans showed typical tuberculosis lesions in his lungs, with the right lung adhering to the chest wall and diaphragm, and multiple calcification points and tuberculous cavities inside. Combined with the smoking traces of carbon deposits found in histological analysis, researchers confirmed that Sidler died of chronic tuberculosis. Long-term smoking and the decline in dietary quality due to the war in his final years accelerated his death.
The reporter learned that this discovery not only fills the gap in the research on ancient European embalming technology, but also reflects Austria's unique funeral culture. According to relevant Austrian funeral regulations, whether it is cremation or coffin burial, the body must be placed in a public cemetery. Among them, a coffin must also be used for cremation together with the body, and the starting price of a pine log coffin is about 900 euros. In Austria, the coffin is not only a container for the body, but also carries the local historical traditions and humanistic concepts. The coffin and mummy in the village of St. Thomas am Brasenstein are vivid witnesses of this culture.
At present, the research team has published the relevant research results in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. Researchers said that this rectal filling embalming method may have been relatively common in 18th-century Europe, but it has not been discovered because most bodies decayed. In the future, they will further study the spread of this embalming technology to provide more support for restoring the development context of modern European funeral craftsmanship. The "air-dried priest" mummy will still be preserved in the basement of the church in St. Thomas am Brasenstein, becoming an important cultural symbol connecting the past and the present in the area.
