History - Mummy of Ritter Kalebuz examined - Pencil discovered
Myths surround the over 300-year-old mummy of Knight Kalebuz in the village of Kampehl in the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin. A team of doctors and researchers examined the body and made an intriguing discovery.
The mysterious mummy was scanned using Computed Tomography (CT) at the University Clinic in Neuruppin, as the Medical University of Brandenburg announced. However, all mysteries are far from being solved. The exact cause of death remains open.
"For over a hundred years, Knight Kalebuz has also been a tourist attraction. However, his ancient body has never been comprehensively scientifically examined," said Professor Andreas Winkelmann for Anatomy at the Medical University of Brandenburg. He has now remedied this alongside a team of experts. Experts in mumification and archaeology were involved.
Winkelmann wanted to present the results this evening - in the church in Kampehl near Neustadt (Dosse) next to the grave of Christian Friedrich von Kalebuz (1651-1702), who is a tourist attraction.
Pencil found in chest cavity
The most astonishing discovery during the CT scan of the mummy was, according to the university, a pencil in the chest cavity. It was a used pencil, likely from the years between 1900 and 1920, Winkelmann explained. The mummy had a larger opening in the chest cavity - presumably due to a tissue sample taken in 1895 by the physician Rudolf Virchow. Through this defect, the pencil entered the body. "This fits into known stories about pranks played with the mummy in earlier centuries," Winkelmann said.
Additionally, the experts found a round metallic object in the mummy's mouth cavity. It could be a coin or an amulet. "Since the mouth of the mummy is too narrow, this object can only be retrieved through an incision in the tissue – whether this was done to the knight or whether this secret is left to the responsible parish council, is still to be decided," Winkelmann commented on possible further investigations.
The myth of the knight and a case for the justice?
When the church in Kampehl was restored at the end of the 18th century, the workmen opened the grave. Two bodies were found to be completely decomposed, but not that of Knight Kalebuz, as the church district described.
There is a legend that the knight demanded the "right of the first night" from his servants. A young woman refused. When her fiancé later died, the knight was suspected of murder. Under oath, he allegedly said: "If I were indeed the murderer, then may my body not decay."
The cause of death remains unclear after over 300 years
Did Kalebuz die of tuberculosis? The DNA of the tuberculosis bacteria was not definitively detectable, but it was not definitively ruled out either, the university reported. The investigations also indicated that the skeleton was that of a 50- to 60-year-old man who died in the early 18th century. The skeleton was relatively healthy.
Therefore, it is likely that the body dried out naturally. Indications of artificial mumification were not found, as stated. "The body is dried out quickly by a good airflow in the double coffin, which stands on four legs."
The revelations from the CT scan in Neuruppin's university clinic provided intriguing findings for Ostprignitz-Ruppin's archaeologists. One of the most unexpected discoveries was a pencil found in the mummy's chest cavity, dating between 1900 and 1920. The team also detected a round metallic object in the mummy's mouth cavity, possibly a coin or an amulet, which requires further investigation. Despite the advancements in science and technology, the exact cause of Knight Kalebuz's death in Neustadt (Dosse) remains an unsolved mystery.
