150-year-old mummified remains discovered in New York are finally identified

In 2011, builders doing excavation work in Queens, New York, discovered a mummified body inside an iron coffin.

The body was dressed in a white dress and low socks and it had been so well preserved that its skin looked almost fresh, to such an extent that the investigators of the time l & rsquo; had treated like a crime scene.

However, it quickly became clear that it was not the body of a deceased person and investigators understood that it was the body of a woman who lived there. more than 150 years ago. In the years that followed, scientists analyzed the body and finally concluded that the woman had died of smallpox.

Write in the newspaper Emerging infectious diseases, researchers said the body was covered with smallpox lesions and that the iron coffin and its hermetic environment were the reason for the "remarkable" level of preservation. Human DNA has been extracted from a tooth sample. "Thus, the results do not conclusively support the hypothesis that smallpox is the cause of death. However, the visual inspection leaves little doubt on this assumption, "they wrote.

In The woman in the iron coffin, a documentary to be aired on PBS on October 3, experts have now revealed the mystery of this woman's identity. According to New York PostAn autopsy confirmed that smallpox had infected his brain and was the most likely cause of death.

To identify it, the researchers used the DNA taken from the teeth to show that she was between 25 and 35 years old at the time of her death. At the time, Elmhurst was known as Newtown and was home to many African Americans freed from slavery. With the help of an 1850 census report, forensic archaeologist Scott Warnasch compared 33 people matching the criteria of the woman.

One of them, Martha Peterson, was of particular interest: "She would have been 26 years old in 1850, probably would have died by 1851 and would have lived in the home of William Raymond, partner of the coffins manufacturer in Iron Fisk & Raymond. "

The coffin in which she was found was of the same brand – a convincing proof that they had identified the mummified body.

Facial reconstruction of "The Woman in the Iron Coffin", created by Judicial Imaging Specialist Joe Mullins. Impossible Factual / Joe Mullins

The team then went on to find out what Peterson looked like. They used Joe Mullins, specialist in forensic imaging, to reconstruct his face from a scanner. "The skull says where the eyes are. The width of the nose comes from the shape of the nasal opening; The thickness of the lips is based on tooth enamel, "said Mullins at To post. "I used the skull to tell me the height and angle of his ears. Putting a face on the story is remarkable. "

Peterson was buried at the African Methodist Episcopal Church shortly after the discovery of his coffin in 2011.

Secrets of the Dead: The woman in the Iron Coffin will be inaugurated on Wednesday, October 3rd at 10pm. on PBS.