In this project we are planning to investigate a wide variety of mummies deriving from different crypts and chapels in Sicily. This includes the Capuchin catacombs at Palermo, where about two-thousand bodies are stored in wall niches or caskets along the corridors, sorted by age, sex and profession. Moreover, additional collections of mummies spanning the 16th to 20th centuries AD are located in many minor centres scattered around the island, with the highest concentration being in the north-east corner.
The mummies will be investigated by anthropological and paleopathological techniques to identify the age and sex of the individuals, to observe pathological conditions and evaluate the mummification processes of the mummies. In a further step, the mummies will be investigated by radiolgical, histological, nanotechnological and molecular methods.