Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1909-02-09
BURIED 700 YEARS
TOMB OF LoNG-DEAD PRELATE
UNCOVERED.
Evidently Place of sepulcher of a
Bishop of the Roman Catholic
Church, But His History
Has Been Lost.

Workmen at the minister at Basic,
Switzerland, while Installing a new
heating plant a short time ago, dis
covered in an interior crypt a tomb,
which has been made the subject of
a curious investigation.
1t was evident that the body en-
closed in the stone walls was that of
a high functionary. 1t was clad in the
vestments of a bishop of the Roman
Catholic church. The skeleton hand
still clasped the wooden crook sym
bolical of the shepherd.
Who was the prelate buried in this
box of stone? Inquiry showed that the
body was that either of Bishop Lutold
l., of Arburg, who died in 1918, or of
Bishop Heinrich H., of Thun, who died
in 1888. 1t is known, at least, that
the opened tomb contained the re-
mains Of a man who died nearly 700
years ago.
The proceedings following this dis
covery were somewhat remarkable. A
photograph of the open tomb with the
body in it was taken with great diff
ficulty, for 1t was almost impossible in
that narrow underground hole to make
a clear picture.
For the purpose of thorough exam
inatton the body was taken from its
bed of centuries to a room in the mu-
scum of the city. This was difficult
to do, for the slightest touch was like
ly to crumble anything in the tomb to
dust. The examination required two
days, and then the remains were
buried again. it is hoped. never more
to be disturbed.
The body had been embalmed, but
the process only delayed and did not
arrest the process of decay. The tomb
consisted simply Of slabs of stone ce-
mented together. and the remains in
their splendid vestments were laid
upon a bed of fiat stones placed in pc.
sition without cement.
The head had been pillowed on q
stone scooped out a little. But the
head had not survived that interval
OF seven centuries. Nothing of 1t was
found excepting some handfuls of dust
a small bit of the lower jaw and a few
teeth.
Some of the fingers were covered
with skin that had turned to parch.
ment, but they crumbled at a touch. A
few of h cloths plainly retained their
texture and ornamental designs, but
the greatest care In handling them
was required or they would drop to
ntnnao All wn,o S;ooo1..a 80 49,
they looked like brown tobacco leaf
Chemical tests were made of some Of
the cloth, but nothing of importance
was discovered.
The highly ornate shepherds stat
had been made Of pieces of ash, lin
den and oak wood. mortised together
but now rotten to the center, though
still perfect in shape.
The most striking results of the in
v~estigation was the photographs, 2;
In number, Of the cloth and embroid
cry patterns, the tattered leather san
dals and the tomb. Some of the EN-
broidery patterns are of remarkable
beauty and i%ntricacy.
There vas great difficulty in fixing
the sandals so that they might be pho
t%ographed, for they were little NOR,
than dust that a breath would blow
away. They had been fitted to tn,
feet of a dead man nearly 300 year
before Columbus discovered America
We know Of the remarkable scru
tiny that has been given to the mum
mif1ed remains of the ancient king
and queens of Egypt; this is probabl
the first time that the dust of a Chris
tian prelate has been subjected t
similar Investigations. The ancien
!, processes of preserving the bodies 9
! the dead far excelled those of tn
Christian era as is strikingly shown /
, the present case, for the attempt t
preserve the body from total decay u
terly failed.