Journal of Archaeological Science1990,17,383-392 Some 320-Year-Old Soft Tissue Preserved by the Presence of Mercury Tadasu K. Yamadaa, Toshiyuki Kudoub and Hiromi Takahashi-Iwanaga” (Received 23 March 1989, revisedmanuscript accepted 12 February 1990) A mausoleum of a Japanese feudal Lord, Lord Tadamune Date (1599-1658) was excavated in 1981. His body had been buried in an underground stone chamber in a sitting posture and his coffin was packed with lime. It appeared that his body was almost completely skeletonized. A considerable amount of mercury usedfor the burial was also found. During the course of the osteological investigation, part of the soft tissuefrom his chest region was found. Gross anatomically, the tissue was identified as piecesof the humanthoracicviscera. Immuno-electrophoresisdetectedhumanalbumininthistissue. Electron microscopy showed it contained denseconnective tissuecomposed of fibrous structures suggestive of collagen fibrils. Since the soil in Japan is quite unfavourable for thepreservationoforganicmatterevenskeletonsarerarelydiscoveredafterbeingburied for a long time. The present tase is remarkable because part of the soft tissue was preservedfor more than 320yearswithout special treatment. Thecoexistence ofmercury is concluded as the causeof this exceptionally long preservation of the soft tissue. Keywords: MUMMY, MERCURY, BURIAL, HUMAN SOFT TISSUE, JAPAN, ELECTRON MICROSCOPE, IMMUNO-ELECTROPHORESIS. Introduction Mummified human bodies or tissues have been reported from various parts of the World (Smith & Dawson, 1924; Brothwell et al., 1969; Sandison, 1969; Brothwell, 1986). Even cell structure has been examined by electron microscope (Lewin, 1967). On the other hand, preservation of human soft tissue in Japan is uncommon (Brothwell, 1986) and no histological study of preserved human tissue has been made. The present work deals with tissue preserved for more than 320 years. Our effort was directed towards revealing the cause of this preservation. In 198 1, the ruin of a mausoleum called “Kansenden” in Sendai city was excavated. It was where Lord Tadamune Date, the second lord of the clan, had been buried and enshrined for more than 320 years. The Date family had been a feudal clan invested by the Tokugawa Shogunate with “Sendai Han” from the 17th century until the Meiji Restoration in 1867. This “Sendai Han” was a feudal estate in the northern part of mainland Japan (Honshu Island), approximately corresponding to the present Miyagi “Department of Anatomy, Niigata UniversitySchoolof Medicine,Niigata 951, Japan. %epartment of Forensic Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai 980,Japan. 383 0305-4403/90/040383+10S03.00/0 0 1990 Academic Press Limited