A lot of you know that I get a big kick out of being able to link to articles on Scientific American here at a history blog. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
From SciAm:<\/p>\n
\nThe severed head of King Henri IV has been identified from the jumbled remains in the mass graves in Paris’s Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis. A team of researchers used a host of scientific strategies to confirm the head’s owner, who was killed in 1610.
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\n Henri IV was embalmed and then interred at the Basilica of Saint-Denis. But his – along with other royal graves there – was destroyed during the 1793 revolution. The remains were mutilated and mixed together in mass graves.
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\n[…] although there were traces of hair left on the head and face, the researchers lacked adequate mDNA material to run a genetic test. So they turned to other methods to confirm the regal provenance of the cranium, including the following:<\/p>\n* Radiocarbon dating provided a 200-year window (1450 to 1650), which matched with Henri’s lifespan (1553 to 1610).<\/p>\n
* Computed tomography (CT) scans of the head matched up nicely with details in a mould that was made just after the king’s death (now at the Saint-Genevieve Library in Paris).<\/p>\n
* Raman spectroscopy showed traces of an amorphous carbon known as ivory black, which was used by the physician Pierre Pigray during the embalming process (specifically requested by the king to be “in the style of the Italians” rather than conforming to more typical French burial preparations). “This charcoal, obtained by anaerobic calcinations of animal bones, corresponds to that deposited by the surgeon Pigray on the surface of the cadaver to absorb decomposition fluids and putrefactive gases,” the researchers noted.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Full article<\/a><\/p>\n
For context, Henri IV was King of France from 1589-1610 and King of Navarre from 1572-1610, contemporaneous with the last part of Elizabeth I’s reign.<\/p>\n
You can see the research article at the British Journal of Medicine here<\/a>, including imagery of the head.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A lot of you know that I get a big kick out of being able to link to articles on Scientific American here at a history blog. \ud83d\ude42 From SciAm: The severed head of King Henri IV has been identified from the jumbled remains in the mass graves in Paris’s…<\/p>\n