incorruptible bodies?

[Odin]

examples here. (http://www.livingmiracles.net/Incorrupt.html)

So how does this occur? Are reports of this limited to Catholicism or do other religions have similar?

[Jesus]

I checked here, and found a Hindu example of the same thing: http://skepdic.com/incorrupt.html

[c4ts]

Starvation will do that to you. A lack of microbes in the stomach and intestines and you'll mummify instead of decompose.

[dann]

examples here. (http://www.livingmiracles.net/Incorrupt.html)
"Other supernatural characteristics usually related to incorruptibles are: an absence of rigor mortis; a persistent pleasant fragrance emanating from the body;" Perhaps of bitter almonds? From what I've heard, poison is the best way to kill not just the owner of the body, but also the microbes in the intestines, which is why cyanide victims decompose very slowly. I don't really think that starvation kills off all the germs.
It also might explain why these particular bodies are exhumed! The murderers would know where to dig!

[RandFan]

Not so incorruptible that they didn't die.

[Odin]

I'd also heard poison had the effect of preserving bodies, any known cases of this anywhere?

It seems the hindu example was embalmed, I thought that at least some of the catholic ones were claimed not to be.

There are the obvious problems of why some have decayed at all-
http://www.livingmiracles.net/Images/Incorrupt/Catherine.jpg

Also, how well does a coat of wax preserve things and are the display coffins airtight?

am I reading it right that this is a wax model?
http://www.livingmiracles.net/Images/Incorrupt/dePaul4.jpg

[geni]

I suspect anything that prevents decompersition long enough for the body to dry out is likely to have this effect

[c4ts]

The sweet scent would indicate that some kind of embalming agent was used, and someone put spices in it to make it smell nice.

[neutrino_cannon]

There are enough factors involved in rate of bodily decomposition that you could easily end up preserving someone every few hundred years or so without any willfull fraud and embalming.

And there's plenty of that too, so the prevelence of this type of thing shouldn't come as a shock.

For example, if the catacomb was dry enough (and/or the martyr died of exsanguination!) they would rapidly turn into something akin to brittle leather and just about as edible from a microbal point of view.

I'm fairly sure this has happened before.