Saint Anthony
Saint Anthony of Padua, known as Saint Anthony of Lisbon, was a Portuguese Catholic priest, and friar of the Franciscan Order of monks. Raised by a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, he turned to a simpler life which was devoted to the service of the Lord! His contemporaries noted his powerful preaching, expert knowledge of the scriptures, as well as his undying devotion to the poor and sick.
Much beloved by the Catholic Church, his legacy carried on to this day, despite him passing away at the young age of thirty-six! For a man who’s purportedly the saint for lost things, wouldn’t you want to have a face to imagine so you know who to direct your prayers?
Meritamen, Beloved of Amun
The daughter and later Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great, next up on our list is Meritamen. When her mother, Ramesses’ favorite wife, Nefertari died, Meritamen took her place. Fast forward, and the skull of the “beloved of the god Amun” was discovered in the archives in a peculiar place: none other than at the University of Melbourne!
Now that would’ve made some university researcher’s day! Or year! No one seems to know how her skull managed to get on a flight to Australia. The mysterious Meritamen was a noblewoman, and it was determined that the skull was over 3,000 years old. At the time of her death, it seems she was relatively young – researchers estimate she was between 18 and 25 at the time.
Putting Meritamen Back Together
It’s funny the things you find out when you examine a skull – not that we’d have any experience. It seems that the young queen had a case of tooth decay! This then matched up with the researcher’s guesses that she was born during the time of Alexander the Great, as he was the one to bring sugar to Egypt during his series of conquests.
140 hours and more were required from researchers who conducted the CT scans. Using a 3-D printer, the above figure of Meritamen was constructed. According to researchers, and by analyzing her bone structure, Meritamen was quite the looker! It was also discovered that she suffered from anemia, which was potentially related to her death, as it would’ve caused her to be weak and lethargic. Poor thing, can’t imagine it was fun with her living situation.
Behold… The Face of a Saint!
Tales surrounding Anthony of Padua’s death are quite peculiar, and perhaps a little larger than life. He died in 1231, and it’s rumored that bells rang of their own accord, and children began crying spontaneously in the street. If that’s true, well, cool story bro, but if it isn’t, we’re not too shocked about that either! In a creepy twist, his body was exhumed three decades later. The exhumers found that all that was remaining of the saint was his bottom jawbone and tongue.
If you’re already feeling a little queasy, you probably don’t want to know that you can visit them because they’re on display! You can take a trip to Mission Dolores, one of the oldest churches in San Francisco, California to lay your eyes on a life-size depiction of Saint Anthony that dates all the way back to the 18th century.
El Señor de Sipán
The Lord of Sipán was the first of several Moche mummies discovered at Huaca Rajada in Peru. A fairly recent discovery, the mummies were found in 1987! Archaeologists deem this site one of the most significant in the twentieth century, particularly because the Lord of Sipán’s tomb was found intact and left untouched by thieves! After careful excavation, fourteen tombs had been located and identified in the area.
It seems that the ancient Peruvians also believed in the afterlife and burial procedures – as such, Sipán was found buried with a treasure trove! Now this was a delicate procedure for the forensic team as the pressure from the sediment that had been lying dormant for over 2,000 years dropped, and consequently shattered the skull into 96 pieces! Thankfully the team was able to put it all back together.