CT Scans of a 1000 year old Buddha statue reveal the mummified remains of a monk hidden inside. Scientists found the unthinkable a few months ago when they examined statue from China that contained the mummified monk who apparently died during meditation.
The mummy was discovered in a cavity inside the statue after a private buyer took it to an expert for restoration, according to sources it is not clear when the statue was taken out of China.
When the team of researchers did a CT scan on the statue and found the mummy they noted that the mummy’s organs had gone missing. On further investigation they said “We thought it would be lung tissue, but instead we found little scraps of paper covered with Chinese characters,” said Vincent van Vilsteren, a curator with Drents Museum.
Reasearchers were also able to find out that the mummy was a Buddhist monk named Liuquan, but how he was mummified is a mystery. He may have gone through the practice of self-mummification, popular in Japan, China, Thailand over 1,000 years ago. The remains may have deteriorated and later been placed inside a statue.
