Archive · 2 Nov 2025
Mystery of Green Mummy Solved: Copper Box Preservation Revealed
Imagine finding an old toy that turned a weird green color.
Scientists found a mummified body, like an ancient preserved person, that was also bright green!
They figured out it was because the person was buried inside a box made of copper a long, long time ago.
Copper can do funny things when it gets old, especially when it touches acids from a body.
It reacted and made the skin and bones turn green, like how old copper statues get a greenish coating.
The special box helped keep the body preserved really well, but it also gave it its unique, mysterious green color.
A mummified body discovered in Italy hundreds of years ago had a distinctive green color.
Researchers revealed the green coloration was caused by the body being preserved in a copper box.
The copper box's antimicrobial properties helped preserve the hard and soft tissues of the mummified remains.
Copper reacted with acids from the body, forming corrosion products and patina that turned the remains green.
The mummy, a 12-14-year-old boy, was found in the basement of an ancient villa in Bologna, northern Italy, in 1987.
- Who
- Scientists and researchers
- What
- Solved the mystery behind the unique green color of a mummy
- When
- The mummy was discovered in 1987, and the mystery was solved recently with new research.
- Where
- Bologna, northern Italy
- Why
- The green color resulted from the mummy being preserved in a copper box, causing copper ions to interact with the body's acids and compounds, forming green corrosion products and patina.
- Discovery Location
- Bologna, northern Italy
- Discovery Year
- 1987
- Subject Age
- 12-14 years old
- Burial Container Material
- Copper or copper alloy
- Primary Preservation Factor
- Copper box
- Resulting Color
- Shades of green