THE MYSTERIOUS TATOO MUMMY

  

This mysterious mummy, discovered by Peruvian archaeologist Regulo Franco, was one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in Peru and the world. It was the first time in Peruvian history that the mummified remains of an ancient queen who ruled the northern coast of Peru 1,600 years ago were found. This unique event occurred in a town called Magdalena de Cao, 60 kilometers from the city of Trujillo and 700 kilometers north of Lima.

 After several years of excavations in an ancient pyramid called by the local population as THE WITCH, a group of archaeologists managed to reach what would be a ROYAL MAUSOLEUM where thousands of years ago the MOCHICA civilization buried their queen in a multitudinous funeral, who has now been baptized as THE LADY OF CAO.

 

 

 

Excavations at the EL BRUJO pyramid began in 1990 and it was not until May 15, 2006 that they managed to find a mysterious funerary bundle in perfect condition despite the passage of time. THE MOCHICAS had mummified the remains of this sovereign using complex techniques to make it last over time. After this formidable discovery came the arduous task of opening it and to the surprise of the team of archaeologists, it was the mummy of a woman and the most surprising thing was that her body had mysterious tattoos.

Studies later revealed that she was an ancient sovereign of the MOCHICA civilization who ruled the northern coast of Peru and who unfortunately died as a result of complications during childbirth. Also, this queen was pregnant and at the same time suffered from ECLAMPSIA (headache, vomiting, vision problems, stomach pain, seizures, etc.). These health problems worsened and finally caused her death around the year 400 AC..

 

It is known that she was a woman between 20 and 25 years old and 1.45 meters tall. Given that her tomb was intact, a formidable treasure was found consisting of 18 necklaces of gold and precious stones, tiaras, gold crowns, 2 batons of command, her fine dress made of cotton, gold and silver nose rings and some sewing needles made of gold and several highly crafted ceramics. But perhaps the most amazing were her strange and delicate tattoos on her arms and legs with figures of spiders, snakes, lizards, jaguars, bees and butterflies, which denotes that this woman, in addition to being a queen, was probably a person with some type of esoteric or shamanic knowledge or perhaps she was a fortune teller who read oracle.

The studies provided important information about this fascinating and mysterious theocratic civilization as well as this mummy that, according to experts, changes some concepts about the history of Peru since it was known until before this discovery that the ancient rulers of ancient Peru were only men and suddenly this archaeological discovery rewrites history and places this mummy as the first female ruler of Peru.

 

Regarding the preservation of the body of this important woman of the Mochica elite, it was possible to preserve it because it was in the middle of the pyramid away from humidity, the dryness of the desert also helped its conservation, the techniques used for mummification were complex, a group of MOCHICA experts proceeded to remove the viscera and soft parts of the queen, they washed her entire body with sea water and finally covered her body with CINNABAR (mercury sulfide) this highly toxic substance played a fundamental role in preserving the body of this mysterious woman for 1,600 years until today.