Quantcast
ZME Science
  • CoronavirusNEW
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Science Archaeology

Analysis of King Richard’s mummified heart reveals preservation process

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu
March 2, 2013
in Archaeology, Health & Medicine, Research
The dusty remains of King Richard the I's heart. (c) Philippe Charlier
The dusty remains of King Richard I’s heart. (c) Philippe Charlier

A group of French researchers have published a paper in which they reveal how King Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart, had its heart mummified after he succumbed from gangrene in 1199.  Apparently the great monarch’s heart was preserved in mercury, mint and frankincense, among other sweet-smelling plants.

As it was customary at the time, Richard’s heart was removed and preserved separately from the body, in a process whose substance use is biblical.  “The aim was to approach the odor of sanctity,” said study leader Philippe Charlier of University Hospital R. Poincaré.

Previously, there were a lot of theories that claimed Richard was poisoned. The forensic science chemical analysis revealed that in fact Richard the Lionheart died of gangrene, 12 days after sustaining a crossbow wound in Chalus, France. Also, it was confirmed that he died in April, 1199, ending his ten-year rule.

ADVERTISEMENT
This box, discovered in the XIX century, contained Richard's heart. It reads "Here is the heart of Richard, King of England." (c) Musée départemental des Antiquités © Yohann Deslandes/CG76
This box, discovered in the XIX century, contained Richard’s heart. It reads “Here is the heart of Richard, King of England.” (c) Musée départemental des Antiquités © Yohann Deslandes/CG76

His heart was embalmed and placed in its own casket and taken to Notre Dame in Rouen, where it remained lost and forgotten until its discovery in July 1838 by a local historian. After all these centuries, all what remained out of the good king’s heart was dust – a brownish-white powder.

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

It was this powder that the researchers used for their analysis, in which they found traces of proteins found in human heart muscles and tiny fragments of linen, suggesting the heart was wrapped. Preserving agents traced were mercury, which has been found in other medieval burials and was probably used as an embalming agent, along with medicinal plants like myrtle, daisy, mint, pine, oak, poplar, plantain and bellflower and more.

The findings, report in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, come shortly after earlier last month it was confirmed that Richard III’s remains had been found beneath a Leicester car park.

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Tags: forensic sciencerichard iii
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines.

Follow ZME on social media

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.