This report concerns a female child mummy ([Fig. 1]) discovered in the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit, Vilnius, Lithuania. The church stands over a number of subterranean chambers holding mummified human remains most likely dating from the 18th – 19th century AD.
Within the framework of the “Lithuanian Mummy Project” (Jankauskas R, Piombino-Mascali D. Paleopath Newsl 2012; 159: 12) the mummy underwent whole-body computed tomography (CT) (Mx8000 Dual, Philips, Best, The Netherlands).
The total length of the body was approximately 74 cm. The age at death was estimated at three to four years based upon an assessment of the stage of dental eruption and the development of carpal bones.
The mummy revealed excellent preservation of the skeleton with few post-mortem dislocations and marked shrinkage of the surrounding tissues. Only sparse preservation of the internal organs was identified.
The skull showed disproportion with widening of the parietal, occipital and temporal bones compared to the facial and frontal bones ([Fig. 2], [3a, b]). Thickening of the vault at the eminences of the frontal and parietal bones was detected ([Fig. 3c]) as well as circumscribed thinning of the tabula interna (impressiones digitatae) of the parietal, temporal and occipital bones ([Fig. 3 d]). In the occipital bone four small defects with thinning of the adjacent inner surface of the vault were detected ([Fig. 3 d]).
The spine revealed bone-within-bone appearance in the thoracic, lumbar and sacral vertebral bodies ([Fig. 4a]) as well as in the pelvic bones ([Fig. 4b]) and impliedly in the talus and calcaneus.
The neck of both femora was bent downwards producing coxa vara. The normal anterior bending of both femora was more marked and slight lateral bowing was discerned. The tibiae and fibulae were markedly curved anteriorly and laterally with medial tilting of the distal growth plate of the tibia on the left side. Femora and tibiae revealed widening of the cortices on the concave side, thickening of the cortical layer and narrowing of the marrow cavities ([Fig. 2]).