Since it was sent as a gift to King Charles III, the mummy of Herques ravine he has not returned to Tenerife. This unique piece is the best preserved of the Guanche mirlado technique. One reason why he rests in Madrid since 1764. Currently, it is exposed as one of the attractions of the National Archaeological Museum (MAN), after passing through the Royal Library, the Royal Cabinet of Natural History and the National Museum of Anthropology, where it remained for a century until its final transfer in 2015.
Its anthropological richness is due to its uniqueness. In addition to being one of the few remains that are whole, it maintains the viscera and perfect teeth. An uncommon fact regarding the Guanche diet. On the other hand, unlike other xaxos, it preserves its hair and has no bone fractures. These are some of the results obtained in the five-year investigation that, led by MAN, determined that it would be a male, 45 or 50 years old, who died between 1160 and 1260.
There has been a extensive social debate. So much Canary Islands Government What Tenerife Council have asked the Ministry of Culture “Repatriation” of the piece. An application rejected, on several occasions, for possible “damage in the transfer.” Among other political movements, in 2012, a Congressional Culture Commission rejected, by 39 votes against and 5 in favor, the non-law proposal of the Canary Coalition for its transfer to the Archaeological Museum of Tenerife.
“Little to claim” from the National Archaeological Museum
In statements to Radio Club Tenerife-Cadena SER, the Director of the National Archaeological Museum, Andres Carretero, has explained that on the return of one of the “jewels of the collection” this museum dependent on the Ministry has “little to allege.” As a state-level center, the MAN houses elements from all the regions of Spain, so it does not understand whether it “makes sense” for it to return to the Canary Islands, since it would be “unfair” to rewrite history, alluding to the arrival of the mummy to the capital. “Why this yes and other less attractive pieces no?” has been questioned.
For the Director the main nuance of “The problems in the transfer” it is their fragility. The body has some anterior fissures and a displacement could endanger it. “The movements, to avoid irreparable damageThey must be very careful ”, he added. And it is that the piece, after 200 years acclimatized to a relative humidity of between 10% and 20% “is as if it were cardboard”. In Tenerife that ratio rises to 80%, to which he has added; “When you see what the sea does with pieces of bronze, imagine what it would do with human remains.”
On a possible transfer of another claimed symbol that could serve as a precedent, such as the Lady of Elche, Carretero has reported that “it was already provided a few years ago and that a new transfer is not contemplated” despite the statements of the mayor of Elche, Carlos Gonzalez, which augured a “prelude” for his return. Faced with a government decision, MAN “would have no choice but to abide by it.” A fact that is distant as far as the mummy of Herques, since “We have not officially had conversations with institutions in the Canary Islands” it is finished.
“There have been no conversations with the Ministry”
By the Canary Islands Government they assure that “a possible transfer of the Iberian bust would not be expected”. For the General Director of Historical Heritage, Maria Antonia Perera, “The request is not linked to the performance of MAN with other objects”. Regarding the “excuse” of possible damages in the transfer, Perera assures that “it is also a possibility that all the conservation guarantees can be applied”. And is that the piece, he argues, can be damaged both in that place and where it was.
Questioned by official conversations, Perera has explained that during this legislature they have not contacted the Ministry. The legislation, he points out, marks the return of historical pieces to their place of origin as “conditional” and not as “imperative.” As a solution, the holder of Historical Heritage considers that the recovery request “must be coordinated with the Cabildo de Tenerife”, as it is part of its heritage and its competence, since the Archaeological Museum of the island, which has hosted temporary exhibitions with mummies from all over the world, is presented as the best alternative to MAN.
“It would act immediately if the Lady of Elche moves”
Unlike the Government of the Canary Islands, the Insular Councilor for Museums, Concepcion Rivero, assures that “it would act immediately as a consequence of the transfer of the Lady of Elche”Since “The argument of problems in the transfer would fall by its own weight”. Regarding this argument, Rivero has asserted that it is “traditionally wielded by MAN”, which has prevented temporary transfers.
From the institution it would seem “understandable” that the mummy continued in Madrid if other notable elements of the country’s archaeological heritage are maintained. Regarding the historical looting of mummies, Rivero recalled that she is not the “only one found outside the island” and that from the Cabildo, together with the Museum of Nature and Archeology de has activated a plan to locate them.
“We have restored mummies from Argentina”
The Director of the Archaeological Museum of Tenerife, Conrado Rodriguez, recalled that the center already has experience in the transfer of mummies. It was in 2018, when it housed the Athanatos exhibition, which brought together embalmed specimens from different parts of the world. “For this temporary transfer, conversations were held with MAN that did not cause problems, not its technicians”, has qualified.
He too Director of the Canarian Institute of Bioanthropology it is of the opinion that this “put forward” argument is not “sustainable”. Not only after the technical improvements of the museum since the first procedure was carried out in the seventies, but because of the precedents. “We have restored mummies from Argentina. A 6-hour road transport was required in addition to two flights and a stopover in Madrid”, from where, by the way, three other Guanche mummies were transferred.
Historic mummies loot
It is precisely about the historical trade in specimens that he has spoken Mercedes Martin. The superior technique of the Canary Institute of Bioanthropology has detailed that in Europe they were coveted objects since, in addition to serving as supposed compost, they were attributed “medicinal properties”. “On France mummy powder was sold in pharmacies ”, he stressed. Thanks to the Cabildo project, specimens have been found in countries such as Germany, Austria, Russia or the United Kingdom, in addition to the Netherlands.
It is difficult to quantify the plunder since a large part of them, due to the fact that the islanders themselves sold them, belong to cabinets and private collections, but “Every day we find places where there were or are”. They are currently tracking human remains both in a museum in Sweden as well as in Cuba, where it is believed that a doctor who emigrated from Gran Canaria took a copy for his study.
Martín has pointed out the “peculiarity” of the Guanche mummies as a reason for the looting. Until the Castilian Conquest, Egyptian mummies captured all the attention of Europeans. But the White skin and its homogeneous technique from the second century AD, unlike the Egyptian, it sponsored continental trade. To finish and draw the magnitude, Martín commented that at a congress held in Germany he came across a Guanche mummy by chance.
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