Overview
- The peer‑reviewed study published in late August 2026 examined 128 online listings, documented 122 human mummified specimens and found visible fungal colonization on 13 items.
- Researchers found sellers often avoid declaring shipment contents and provide little or no provenance, which lets mummified remains move across borders through social media, auction sites and general marketplaces.
- The study warns that dormant fungal spores on preserved soft tissue can become airborne when items are jostled and that historic embalming used arsenic, mercury and lead, creating both biological and chemical hazards for handlers.
- Buyers, private collectors and postal, warehouse, delivery and customs workers routinely handle remains without masks or gloves, unlike museum conservators who use strict PPE and climate controls to limit exposure.
- Authors call for coordinated action by lawmakers, platforms, postal services and police to tighten rules, restrict the gray market and protect descendant communities while UK parliamentary discussion continues with no comprehensive regulation yet.