[Dating from the 19th century], scientists discovered a mummified fetus who appears to have undergone an embryotomy. It’s a surgery that dismembers the fetus while it is in the womb, when traditional delivery methods are impossible to perform.

[T]he body had been taken apart and placed roughly back together, like a human puzzle. The skull had been severed from the spinal column and had been cut in several places. Additionally, limbs and bones within the axial skeleton had been detached or dissected.

Along with the fetus, the researchers found items such as rosaries, clothing, jewelry, and shrouds for wrapping deceased bodies.

For the curious, the very earthquake that indirectly revealed the fetus was the one that resulted in six scientists being convicted of manslaughter in 2012 for not adequately predicting the earthquake.

Yeah, incredibly stupid.

Via IFLScience!.