Sweet dreams!
I find the best stuff searching for images. I was looking for a parchment texture to use as a background, and I discovered that the Museo de las Mumias has a slick new website. And, apparently, a slick new museo to go with.
You know these guys, right? If you’ve watched Believe it Or Not or owned a book about repulsive weirdnesses (and who does not?) you’ll have heard of the mummies of Guanajuato. Little silvermining town in Central Mexico.
Between 1865 and 1958, Guanajuato authorities dug up anyone whose family quit paying rent on a crypt and stored the bodies in a warehouse. Some of them were remarkably well preserved, which was put down to dry air circulating around the tombs (some reports say minerals in the soil, others are emphatic that the bodies were from above-ground tombs).
People, morbid shitbags that they are, came from all over to slip a few pesos under the table and take a tour. They eventually shrugged and officially made 111 of them into a museum.
Early pictures of the collection are skeevy as hell. Many of the mummies were just tied to the walls with twine. People could could feel free to poke fingers through or break bits off. Which — being shitbags — they often did.
Look like it’s all climate controlled glass cases and track lighting now. Though it’s still skeevy as hell.
More about the Museo here, here and here.
Or just skeeve yourself out and look at the pictures.
Good weekend!
Posted: November 12th, 2010 under history, international, personal.
Comments: 11
Comments
Comment from Monotone The Elderish
Time: November 12, 2010, 11:06 pm
creepy ass mexican zombies? Now I’ve seen(or read about) it all….. (btw, does the one second from the right still have eyeballs?)
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: November 12, 2010, 11:24 pm
I’m pretty sure those desiccated bits of junk on her cheeks are her eyeballs.
Enjoy!
Comment from David Gillies
Time: November 12, 2010, 11:50 pm
Unless my eyes deceive me the guy front right in the white shirt is Senator Harry Reid. Harry, you bad monkey, where you been at?
Comment from Scubafreak
Time: November 13, 2010, 12:06 am
I’ve seen alot of shows on places like that on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. Rather interesting, and morbid, to say the least….
The REALLY interesting ones are the huge sink-holes in Florida where the water has virtually no oxygen in it. Divers have been know to go down several hundred feet, and come back up with ancient bodies that are preserved almost as well as the bog mummies in England….
Comment from Ric Locke
Time: November 13, 2010, 12:21 am
If you go to Guanajato, it isn’t necessary to go ogle dead people.
In the center of town there is a small park, with a bandstand and beautiful green grass, with a church on one end and government buildings on the other. Between, on either side of the park, there are bars, restaurants, and places to buy ceramics (of good quality, not kitsch) and silver jewelry.
I’m sure there are many equally good places to sit, sipping a Negro Modelo and listening to bad brass band music while the sky fades to black, but not many significantly better ones.
Regards,
Ric
Comment from Mags
Time: November 13, 2010, 1:01 am
Ahem. Important dead pool reminders. Who has her again?..
Comment from Pavel
Time: November 13, 2010, 3:48 am
That mummy museum creeps me the hell out. It reminds me of this nightmare I’ve had a few times about the cemetery where they put the dead bodies in glass tombs.
Comment from Monotone The Elderish
Time: November 13, 2010, 4:05 am
Like snow white and the seven dwarfs?
Comment from Chef Mojo
Time: November 13, 2010, 6:20 am
Yep. That there’s some effed up prime grade shit.
Comment from Nina from GCP
Time: November 14, 2010, 4:01 am
Ugh…not interested. 🙂
I studied paleontology because although I dig bones (har har har) I just don’t like the soft tissue. Ewwwww.
Comment from scubafreak
Time: November 15, 2010, 6:11 am
LOL.. After this post, I went back through my copies of seasons 1-3 of “Bones”…..
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