Title: 25 years of international TB research on the Vác Mummy Collection

Authors: Ildikó Pap^1,2,3, Ildikó Szikossy³, György Pálfi¹

Affiliations: ¹Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; ²Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; ³Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Ludovika tér 2–6, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary

Abstract: An extensive series of well-documented, naturally mummified individuals came to light during the reconstruction work at the Dominican Church in Vác, Hungary, in 1994 and 1995. The anthropological material of the crypts, known as the Vác Mummy Collection (VMC), is currently being stored in the Department of Anthropology of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. Considering how rare natural mummies are, the significance of these finds is wildly appreciated. Moreover, with the known archival and medical background data, the well-documented material is internationally known and considered a reference population. Most of the individuals' identities are known based on the data of available microhistorical sources (coffin inscriptions, birth, marriage, death registers, and other sources).

The VMC provides a unique possibility for a survey concerning the health conditions of a contemporary Hungarian settlement built on a commercial crossroad and inhabited by several nationalities. The VMC is unique as it contains a reasonably large population restricted to a relatively short period, incorporating its degree of infection by the selected microorganisms. It offers a unique opportunity to study a population that lived in the pre-antibiotic era and modern medicines and to study the relationship between humans and pathogens.

Since their discovery and exploration, a number of studies have been conducted by applying anthropological and molecular methods, showing that most individuals had tuberculosis.

We aim to give a short overview of the multidisciplinary research results concerning TB examination (gross morphology, pathology, 3D modelling, microbiology, genetics, and metagenomics).

Funding: The research was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund, OTKA 61155, OTKA K73441, and NKFIH K 125561.