In his article "Europe's First Mummies," David Keys points out that nothing appeared to be unusual about two human skeletons excavated on Scotland's Outer Hebrides until tests showed the individuals had died up to five hundred years before they were buried. Archaeologists had discovered the oldest mummies ever found in Europe! Two mummies were found buried beneath a 3,000-year-old house at Cladh Hallan, located on the island of South Uist, off the coast of Scotland. …showed first 75 words of 202 total…

…showed last 75 words of 202 total…tightly wrapped in fabric similar to Egyptian mummies. Soft tissue decay occurred only after the bodies, which had been above ground for several hundred years, were buried. Skin and muscle tissue kept the bodies from falling apart. Several theories surround questions concerning why the bodies were buried after having been above ground for hundreds of years. This discovery provides surprising evidence that prehistoric Europeans preserved their dead and directs further investigation into the Bronze Age.