Mummified 200-year-old remains of Buddhist monk

A forensic examination is underway on the human relic which is believed to be around 200 years old, after being preserved in animal skin.

'The mummified body sits in a lotus position, as if still meditating,' said a report in The Siberian Times - citing Mongolian accounts of the discovery.

'Experts that only had time to carry basic visual test say they believe the body can be about 200 years old.'

The body was found on 27 January in Songinokhairkhan province, said Mongolia's 'Morning Newspaper'. It was covered in 'cattle skin'.

The human remains are now undergoing forensic examination in capital Ulaanbataar.

Initial speculation is that the mummy could be a teacher of Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov.

Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov, born in 1852, was a Buryat Buddhist Lama of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, best known for the lifelike state of his body.

His remains were reported not to be subject to macroscopic decay.

(dailymail.co.uk)