Mummified Monk Found Inside Ancient Buddha Statue

Scientists from Netherlands scanned a statue of Buddha dating back to the 11th or 12th century and revealed there is a mummified man concealed inside.

It looks like an ordinary bronze statue on the outside, but a human skeleton can be seen on CT images taken in December at the Meander Medical Center in the Netherlands.

The mummy was identified as the body of Buddhist master Liuquan who lived around the year 1100.

The scientists also found scraps of paper with ancient Chinese characters in places inside the body where organs were taken from.

RT @usupera: Robs Webstek: Buddha Statue with Mummy in Hospital http://t.co/Z9opgDk6nV pic.twitter.com/mK8BICoHk5

— OnLineMan (@onlineman) 21 февраля 2015

The Buddha mummy is the first discovery of its kind, according to media outlets.

It was on display at the Drent Museum in Netherlands last year, making its first appearance outside China. Museum representatives said it may be a case of "self-mummification".

Scientists also took bone material from the mummy for DNA testing. The results are expected to be published in a book about Master Liuquan, which will be published later.

The statue is now on display at the Natural History Museum in Hungary until May 2015.