![]() Lake Natron gets its highly caustic property from a million-year old volcano– Ol Doinyo Lengai, located just south of the lake.Īlthough Lake Natron is not a mystical lake that turns living things into stones, it still is a wonder of nature, and maybe because we have learnt how mummification works and how the lake gets its causticity, we aren’t that fazed by it, but I’m sure to the less educated locals of the African tribes, the lake is very unnatural. A calcified dove : Nick BrandtĪs if the photographs weren’t spooky enough, the lake always has a bloody red colour, owing to the bacteria and minerals found in it. These calcified bodies were found washed up ashore by the photographer Nick Brandt, he then posed these bodies for his photographs, resulting in this brilliantly spooky set of images. ![]() The body was then treated with natron (a carbonate salt collected from the edges of desert lakes) which acted. The Lake water is piping hot, with temperatures usually above 40 degrees Celsius thus birds flying close to the surface of the lake may fall in and drown, the highly saline water then acts as a calcifying agent and doesn’t let the bodies of the birds decompose easily. The most complicated mummification process. When I saw these images for the first time, it looked as if these creatures were killed within seconds of contact with the lake and their carcasses lay still since then, however ,Flamingoes are known to dwell in these waters, so after a quick search, I knew what was up. Check it out : A ‘mummified’ bird, photograph courtesy : Nick BrandtĪ ‘mummified’ swan photographed by NICK BRANDT The images give off an eerie vibe and it seems as if the animals were mummified before they could escape. Also, if soft tissue can be removed, biological information on DNA, genes and diseases can be revealed.This is not the story of the Lindow man but have you ever thought of a lake that would mummify animals and birds before they’re able to comprehend what’s going on? Seems kind of amusing.īelow are some of the photographs of mummified animals at Lake Natron, a highly salty lake in Tanzania,Eastern Africa. In his landmark work, Histological studies on Egyptian mummies (1911). of Ancient Egyptian elements that have been used for the making mummies (embalming. Details include the gender, age and health of a person, how they were mummified and whether objects were included beneath the wrapping. Once in Egypt and while visiting the Natron Lakes, a series of saltwater lakes. Natural Scenery And Serene Lake Natron In The Gregory Rift, Tanzania. The information recovered is bringing the dead to life in ways never thought possible. Natron itself has been used by humans for millennia. This is the same reason that the water has a high alkaline content and turns birds into mummies. In some cases, soft tissue can be removed from the mummy without causing much damage. Lake Natron is named after natron, a chemical formed from a mixture of sodium carbonate and baking soda. have proved that natron played an important part in the mummification process. Mummies can be examined using techniques such as CT scans, MRIs and x-rays or an endoscopic camera can be inserted through a small opening to see directly inside. The minerals in the water petrify the corpses until they become creepy mummies. An iconographie representation of the so-called Lake of Fire from the. After this period the mummy was washed again. Scientific and technological advances mean that it’s now possible to gain enormous amounts of information from mummies without the usual physical and ethical problems associated with studying human remains. The body was then packed and covered in natron (hydrated sodium carbonate) and left for 40 days to dry out. Bringing the dead to life in the 21st century Those that couldn’t afford embalming generally had their bodies ‘preserved’ through drying in hot desert sands or by covering them with resin. The rest of the body was then wrapped, often with the inclusion of amulets and with a mask placed over head of the mummy. The lake is located inside Lake Natron Basin, which is a Ramsar Site wetland of worldwide importance. It is located in the Gregory Rift, which is part of the East African Rift Valley ‘s eastern branch. The skin and first few layers of linen bandages were then covered with a resinous coating. Lake Natron is an alkaline or saline lake in Tanzania’s Arusha Region, located in the north Ngorongoro District. After 40 days, the natron was removed from the skin and the body cavities were filled with linen, natron pouches, herbs, sawdust, sand or chopped straw. The body was then treated with natron (a carbonate salt collected from the edges of desert lakes) which acted as a drying agent, absorbing water from the body so as to prevent further decay. The ghastly Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, is a salt lake meaning that water flows in, but doesn’t flow out, so it can only escape by evaporation. The heart, representing the centre of all knowledge and emotions, was usually left untouched inside the body while the brain was often thrown away.
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