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The Gallotti Mummy (Portuguese: Múmia do Gallotti) was an individual whose body was found trapped by the neck in a crack between two rocks on Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The remains were discovered by a group of five climbers attempting to scale a challenging route known as Gallotti's Chimney.
Due to the presence of long hair, the body was initially thought to belong to a woman. However, forensic analysis later identified the deceased as a man.
Case
On 19 September 1949, five climbers, Antônio Marcos de Oliveira, Laércio Martins, Patrick White, Ricardo Menescal and Tadeusz Hollup, began their ascent of Gallotti's Chimney. Partway through the climb, de Oliveira noticed long hair blowing onto his shoulder and discovered a body lodged in a narrow crevice. The other climbers dismissed his warning as a joke, referencing a deteriorated woman's shoe they had found earlier at the mountain's base. Upon realizing the seriousness of the situation, the group abandoned their climb and alerted the police.
The body was retrieved the following day with the assistance of the climbers, police, and firefighters. At the time, the climbers used rudimentary equipment, including sisal ropes. Forensic examiners determined that the body had been trapped on the mountain for approximately six months and had been naturally mummified by the salty sea air from Guanabara Bay. No signs of violence were found.
The body was initially thought to belong to a woman, but the medical examiner noted that the body belonged to a man. The examiner also noticed that the salty air from Guanabara Bay had mummified the body. Despite the media attention, no one came forward to identify the body, and the body was ultimately buried in a pauper's grave.
At the time, it was speculated that the decedent might have been a homeless person who died by suicide by jumping. Other theories suggested the individual could have been a local hermit or artisan living in a cave. However, the hermit was reportedly evicted from the area by the Brazilian military in 1968, nearly 20 years after the mummy's discovery, making this theory unlikely.
Filmmaker Rodolfo Campos, who made a short film about the case, speculated that the decedent might have been a trans person fleeing violence based on the long hair and clothing found near the scene.
Characteristics
- Shoulder-length hair.
- Thin build.
Clothing
- Sweater.
- Sleeveless cotton shirt.
- Deteriorated woman's shoe found at the base of the mountain.
Sources
- G1 (Portuguese) GRAPHIC POSTMORTEM WARNING
- Aventuras na História (Portuguese) GRAPHIC POSTMORTEM WARNING