Iran's 4 salt mummies placed in vacuum chamber for preservation

Tehran, May 12 (ANI): Iran's four saltmen, unique salt mummies, have been placed in one of the most advanced display cases in the world, in an attempt to maintain and preserve them.

According to Payvand Iran News, the vacuum chamber in Zanjan, where the mummies have been kept, can precisely control humidity and airflow and is provided with a nitrogen-rich mixture deadly to known bacteria and mold.

Iranian, British, German and Austrian researchers declared air and humidity the main enemies of salt mummies at the 2nd International Seminar on the Archeology and Pathology of Saltmen in October, 2007.

The experts examined the saltmen's condition to make the final decision on carrying out further studies on the Chehrabad salt mine, where the saltmen were found.

The Chehrabad Salt Mine is located in the Hamzehlou region of Zanjan province in northwestern Iran.

The saltmen, also known as the Iranian salt mummies, were accidentally discovered by miners in 1993.

Three of the saltmen date to the Parthian (247 BCE - 224 CE) and the Sassanid (224 - 651 CE) eras, while all other human remains discovered at the site go back to the Achaemenid Dynasty (550 - 330 BCE).

Artifacts have been discovered alongside the skeletons, including leather shoes, a leather bag, a terracotta lamp and two cow horns, most of which remain intact.

Salt at the mine worked to preserve the artifacts, as well as the internal organs of the salt men themselves.

Fingernails and hair have also been found undamaged, which will enable scientific testing to be carried out that could reveal further clues about these ancient people. (ANI)