Salt men to undergo surgery TEHRAN, Oct. 27 (MNA) -- The Archaeology Research Center of Iran (ARCI) plans to conduct a series of surgical operations on the ancient salt men of Zanjan’s Chehrabad Salt Mine, the Persian service of CHN reported on Saturday.
The project is being undertaken to complete archaeological studies and carry out other scientific research on the unique mummies, ARCI director Mohammad-Hassan Fazeli Nashli said.
The operations will be performed on the salt men’s soft tissue and entrails, which have remained intact due to the high quality of the mummification, he added.
The project will be carried out in Iran and the ARCI proposes to invite foreign experts to take part if necessary, he noted.
Zanjan played host to Iranian and foreign experts at a two-day conference on the salt men, which took place October 25-26.
The First Salt Man, who is believed to have been approximately 35 years old when he died more than 1700 years ago, was discovered by workers at the salt mine in 1993.
Since then, five other salt men have been found -- although experts believe that the salt mine may contain many more mummies. However, it has been decided to leave any other mummified bodies to rest in peace due to the lack of equipment and technology necessary for their preservation in Iran.
The Sixth Salt Man was recently discovered, but it was re-covered and left in situ.
Fazeli Nashli said at the time of the discovery of the sixth mummy, that Iran is still a novice in the art of preservation and so it is better that it remains in the earth, which is its best trustee.”
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