A mysterious phenomenon affects Portuguese cemeteries. Although the latter lack space, authorities have noted that the bodies of many deceased have not decomposed there in the last 10 years. The corpses were found mummified, while 3 to 5 years are normally enough for a body to decompose, even partially.
“It’s a real problem,” explains Angela Silva Bessa, a forensic anthropology researcher at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, to BFMTV.com, because the municipalities – which are in charge of maintaining cemeteries – no longer know where to bury their dead. .
“A far from anecdotal phenomenon”
In the country, families can keep the bodies of their loved ones underground for three years, before their remains are exhumed, burned or placed in a smaller location. But with this new phenomenon, this is no longer possible and the cemeteries are forced to keep the bodies for two more years.
And these “mummifications” are not anecdotal. This affects several cities such as Braga, Gigueira da Foz, Mértola or Faro. Also in Porto, this affects two out of three bodies according to the Portuguese researcher. “In some cases, it was the fourth time that the authorities tried to exhume the body, but it still wasn’t decomposed,” he explains.
“I have been studying the phenomenon for three years,” explains Angela Silva Bessa, who is the first to write a thesis on the subject. To do this, she sifts the composition of the soils of six cemeteries in the north, south and center of the country. She also analyzes samples of hair, nails, and clothing worn by the deceased under a microscope. She still has a year of research left before she can publish the conclusions of her work.
The drugs involved?
“For now, we don’t really know why these bodies don’t decompose,” says the researcher. “But the initial results of the research show that it seems that the composition of the soils is not the reason for this lack of decomposition, because some corpses buried in the same place, under the same conditions decompose, others do not.”
Angela Silva Bessa thinks rather that “this mummification” is explained by “intrinsic factors” to the person buried. “It could be related to the drugs the person took in life, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy used to treat cancer.”
Indeed, recalls the researcher, these therapies with chemical substances destroy the bacteria present inside the body and, therefore, potentially also those that are supposed to be responsible for initiating our decomposition once dead. At this stage, however, it is only a hint, as the conclusions of his investigation are not yet complete.
Source: BFM TV
