Post by Urban Warrior on Apr 5, 2007 19:07:05 GMT
Submitted by Waspie Dwarf:
Bones thought to be the holy remains of 15th Century French heroine Joan of Arc were in fact made from an Egyptian mummy and a cat, research has revealed. In 1867, a jar was found in a Paris pharmacy attic, along with a label claiming it held relics of Joan's body. But new forensic tests suggest that the remains date from between the third and sixth centuries BC - hundreds of years before Joan was even born.
The study has been reported in the news pages of the Nature journal. Forensic scientist Dr Philippe Charlier, who led the investigation, told Nature: "I'd never have thought that it could be from a mummy." France's national heroine - canonised in 1920 - was convicted of heresy and witchcraft and burned alive in 1431, aged just 19. The "relics" were said to have been found at the stake in the Normandy town of Rouen where Joan was burned.
The remains consisted of a charred-looking human rib, chunks of what appeared to be blackened wood, a 15-centimetre fragment of linen, and a cat thigh bone. In medieval Europe it was common practice to throw black cats into the pyres of supposed witches. Recognised as genuine and sacred by the Church, the "remains" are now housed in a museum in Chinon belonging to the Archdiocese of Tours.
Source: BBC News
Bones thought to be the holy remains of 15th Century French heroine Joan of Arc were in fact made from an Egyptian mummy and a cat, research has revealed. In 1867, a jar was found in a Paris pharmacy attic, along with a label claiming it held relics of Joan's body. But new forensic tests suggest that the remains date from between the third and sixth centuries BC - hundreds of years before Joan was even born.
The study has been reported in the news pages of the Nature journal. Forensic scientist Dr Philippe Charlier, who led the investigation, told Nature: "I'd never have thought that it could be from a mummy." France's national heroine - canonised in 1920 - was convicted of heresy and witchcraft and burned alive in 1431, aged just 19. The "relics" were said to have been found at the stake in the Normandy town of Rouen where Joan was burned.
The remains consisted of a charred-looking human rib, chunks of what appeared to be blackened wood, a 15-centimetre fragment of linen, and a cat thigh bone. In medieval Europe it was common practice to throw black cats into the pyres of supposed witches. Recognised as genuine and sacred by the Church, the "remains" are now housed in a museum in Chinon belonging to the Archdiocese of Tours.
Source: BBC News
