Mummies weren’t always treated with the reverence we associate with ancient Egypt. In past centuries, they were exploited in shockingly strange ways. Here are five of the most bizarre:
1. Medicine from Mummies
In the 16th century, ground-up mummies, called mumia, were sold as medicine. Believed to cure ailments like epilepsy, even royalty consumed it. The demand led to widespread tomb looting.
2. Locomotive Fuel
Writer Mark Twain claimed that mummies were used as train fuel in 19th-century Egypt due to wood and coal shortages. Though debated, it reflects how little value was once placed on ancient remains.
3. Paint Pigment
European artists used a pigment called Mummy Brown, made by grinding up human and animal mummies. It was prized for its unique tone—until mummy supplies ran low.
4. Fertilizer
British farmers in the 1800s used ground-up mummified cats from Egypt as fertilizer. One shipment included 180,000 cat mummies.
5. Fake Holy Relics
Remains of mummies were sometimes passed off as relics. One jar, thought to contain Joan of Arc’s ashes, was later found to hold parts of an Egyptian mummy.
These eerie uses remind us how differently past societies viewed death, history, and human remains.
Source: Times of India