Author Archives
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The murder that instigated the UK’s most dangerous autopsy
There is an ivy-covered grave in London’s Highgate Cemetery that looks no different than the other graves around it. This particular burial, however, holds the lead-lined coffin and radioactive corpse of Alexander Litvinenko, who was subject of the UK’s “most… Read More ›
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Saint Catherine of Siena’s divine head
One of the most captivating displays of saintly relics is at the Basilica Cateriniana di San Domenico in Siena, Italy, a town about 45 miles (72km) south of Tuscany. Worshippers and tourists who visit this search can see the mummified head of… Read More ›
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The discovery of a 5500-year-old cold case
In 1896, Sir Wallis Budge, Keeper of the Egyptian Department at the British Museum at the turn of the 20th century, reportedly witnessed the exhumation of six mummies dated to the predynastic era, the period between the Neolithic and Dynastic periods… Read More ›
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Beauty to die for: How vanity killed an 18th century celebutante
Between the 15th and 18th centuries, many people applied cosmetics that contained deadly toxins to achieve the look of a flawless complexion. This harmful makeup often worsened the wearer’s skin, caused physical discomfort, and, in at least one case, death. An 18th… Read More ›
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The Roman empress who used forensic science to identify her rival’s head
In 49 AD, a Roman soldier carried a decaying human head into Rome to present it to the wife of Emperor Claudius, Julia Agrippina. Julia Agrippina, also known as Agrippina the Younger, had ordered the suicide of Lollia Paulina, her formal… Read More ›
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The traveling corpses of the medieval prince-bishops of Würzburg
While doing some research on heart burials, the ritual internment of the heart separate from the rest of the corpse, I came across an account of the odd and days-long funeral of the prince-bishops of Würzburg in an article by… Read More ›
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Which Beauchêne invented the “exploded” skull technique?
The Beauchêne skull, or exploded skull, is a type of anatomical preparation for which the bones are separated and mounted in anatomical position, but spaced out, so that it looks like the bones are suspended in mid-air. The Beauchêne skull is… Read More ›
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The camel-riding corpse that killed a woman
In the spring of 1883, a coroner was dispatched to investigate the gruesome death of a woman on a sheep ranch in eastern Arizona. The only witness to the killing was a woman who barricaded herself inside a ranch house… Read More ›
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Lord Byron’s skull cup
Lord Byron (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824), née George Gordon Byron (I love that his middle name is Gordon), was a leading poet of the Romantic movement and a good friend of fellow writers Mary and Percy Bysshe… Read More ›
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Re-animating a Murderer: The Corpse Experiment that Inspired Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
George Forster was hanged at Newgate Prison on January 18, 1803 for murdering his wife and daughter. After the execution, Forster’s (also spelled Foster in The Newgate Calendar) body was carried to a nearby house so that Giovanni Aldini (April… Read More ›
