Remains of some of the 163 children at Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo to be examined using X-ray.

“I want to make sure their stories and presence on this Earth is not forgotten”, one of the specialists proclaimed. Over 160 children are interred in Sicily’s renowned Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, although nothing is known about them or the initial placement of their scanty and frequently mummified bones there.

A group of experts is currently working to solve several mysteries of the mummies. According to Kirsty Squires, head of the study, main investigator, and associate professor of bioarcheology at Staffordshire University in England, they intend to use X-ray analysis to learn more about the children’s lives and ages.

The initiative, which Squires described as the first to focus only on children who died between 1787 and 1880, will look for evidence of developmental flaws, trauma, and diseases. She continued, “We are looking for cause of death, health conditions at the time of death, and development,” she added. “No one has looked at the mummies to better understand these attributes before.”

The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo contain the largest concentration of mummified skeletons in all of Europe, with more than 1,284 embalmed and partially skeletonized bodies, some of which are fully preserved, on display. The bodies are on display for the general public and tourists as a part of Sicily’s heritage.

However, as death certificates only contain little information, it is still unclear how the kids were buried there. The 41 bodies kept in the so-called children’s area in the catacombs will be the only focus of experts’ attention. More than 163 children’s remains are located in the catacombs, but according to Squires, researchers only focus on those that are easily accessible.

Each mummies will get an X-ray scan from head to toe to examine their bones and help determine their age, as well as any dental material and any soft tissue that may still be in the pelvic region to help determine the gender. In order to learn more about the identities of the deceased in both life and death, researchers will next challenge the findings using the deceased’s placement in the children’s room, as well as their clothing and funeral relics.

Squires also asserted that the X-rays wouldn’t damage the kids’ bodies in any way. “Imaging methods are non-invasive, and as the mummies cannot be moved out of the crypt, this approach is the only feasible,” said Dario Piombino-Mascali, a biological anthropologist at Vilnius University in Lithuania and the project’s co-investigator.

The numerous niches, crevices, and corridors of the Capuchin Catacombs actually contain some of the most significant collections of mummies in the entire world, including embalmed bodies and skeletal remains. After being utilized by Capuchin order monks initially, the cemetery was opened to the public.

The location has since developed into a landmark and a well-known tourist destination. A young mummy from the catacombs named Rosalia Lombardo, who passed away at the age of two in 1920 from pneumonia, was previously examined by researchers. She was dubbed “world’s most beautiful mummy” because to her flawlessly preserved and almost lifelike face, eyelashes, hair, and burial clothes. Lombardo was one of the final people buried there.

For Piombino-Mascali, it’s important that the stories of the children of the Capuchin Catacombs are told. “I was a lucky child, but I know that some children were not so lucky and died prematurely,” he said. “I want to make sure their stories and presence on this Earth is not forgotten.”

Src: kenhthoisu.net