via Live Science:
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A 19th-century mummified fetus that underwent an ancient surgical procedure while in its mother’s womb has been discovered by researchers in Italy, according to a new report.
The procedure was apparently done when a mother’s life was in danger or the fetus had already died.
The investigators found the mummy after a devastating magnitude-6.3 earthquake occurred in L’Aquila in central Italy on April 6, 2009. The earthquake resulted in more than 300 deaths and damaged many buildings in the nearby area, including the historical St. John the Evangelist church in the village of Casentino. The floor of the church partially collapsed, exposing underground rooms holding mummified human bodies, which included the newfound fetus that dates back to 1840, according to the researchers’ estimates.
When the researchers examined the fetus mummy using a radiograph, they saw a fetal skeleton that was not fully connected or articulated, which means that some of the bones were not in the exact same position to each other as they likely were when the fetus was alive.