As part of the mechanical restoration of the mummies from the salt mine in Zanjan, Iran, we had started the so-called OPEN-LAB project in the middle of the 2020 pandemic, which enabled an interested public to follow the work of the experts live. The project has produced, among other things, an ethics discussion, a youth book, a puppet show and content on the web and in social media as further lasting results.
Mummy finds
Between 1993 and 2011, eight mummified people were found in the ancient Douzlakh/Chehrabad salt mine, a cultural heritage site in northwestern Iran. They are up to 2400-year-old remains of miners who died in several accidents. Today, their bodies are a sensation for science and are kept and exhibited at the Zanjan Saltmen and Archaeological Museum (ZSAM) and the Iranian National Museum.