An Autopsy On A 700-Year-Old Mummy Confirms He Was Murdered

Using modern forensic techniques , a team of archaeologist have conducted an autopsy on the naturally preserved mummy of Cangrande della Scala . As mistrust , the research worker have confirmed that the gothic Italian warlord was in fact assassinated .

Cangrande died suddenly in 1329 at the age of 38 . He was a self-aggrandising mickle at the time , the most celebrated member of the Scala dynasty which rule Verona from 1277 to 1387 . In summation to being the lead patron of the poet Dante Alighieri , he was known as a enceinte warrior and an important tyrant . In 1314 he brought the city of Vicenza under his control , followed by Padua and Treviso in 1328 and 1329 respectively .

But on July 18th , 1329 — four days after his exultant ingress in the city of Treviso — he became violently ominous . He started vomiting and suffered from febricity and diarrhoea , eventually die on the morning of July 22nd . Some said he had become sick after drinking from a polluted springiness , but rumour started whirlpool that he was poison .

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A Machiavellian Demise

Thanks to the work of Gino Fornaciari and his colleague , we now know this to be true . His innate ma , which was exhumed from its grave in the church of Santa Maria Antiqua in Verona in 2004 , was very well preserve , allowing the researchers to perform palaeopathological , palynological , and toxicological tests , along with archeological and diachronic investigations .

Toxicological test performed on various samples submit from the mummy , including faecal sampling , showed that Cangrande consumed chamomile , black mulberry tree and pollen spores of Digitalis , a toxicant plant otherwise known as foxglove . Taken at high enough assiduousness , Digitalis is deadly , and its deadly effects are often accompanied by vomiting and diarrhoea .

“ The multidisciplinary field performed on the natural mummy of Cangrande della Scala supports the theory that Cangrande was dupe of digitalis poisoning , ” reason the authors . “ Palynological analyses demonstrated the comportment of digitalis as pollen grains in the rectum cognitive content and toxicological psychoanalysis confirmed the comportment of two combat-ready principles of Digitalis , digoxin and digitoxin , present in toxic concentration in the liver and faeces . ”

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Now , it ’s potential that Cangrande incidentally take in the Digitalis , but as the research worker point out , the most likely hypothesis is that of “ a measured presidential term of a lethal amount . ”

While the cause of dying has been pinpointed , the exact liquidator has not . Suspects do exist , as the researchers point out :

The principal suspects are the neighbouring states , the Republic of Venice or Ducate of Milan , worry about the raw regional power of Cangrande and Verona ; at the death of Cangrande also his challenging nephew Mastino , who became swayer of Verona in tie with his brother Alberto , can not be whole excluded as instigator .

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Interestingly , the postmortem examination also testify that Cangrande suffered from mild osteoarthritis of the column , elbows , and hip , with a meniscus calcification of the knee , in all probability the result of the strong intense physical activities survive by the Prince .

tick out the entire study at the Journal of Archaeological Science : “ A mediaeval instance of foxglove poisoning : the sudden dying of Cangrande della Scala , lord of verona ( 1291 – 1329 ) “ .

Images : Gino Fornaciari .

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