Hidden 'extra' body found in bishop's coffin 300 years later

A scan of a 17th century coffin revealed has a secret that's been hidden for nearly 350 years.

Since his death in 1679, Bishop Peder Winstrup lay quietly in the crypt beneath a Swedish cathedral -- but unknown to anyone, there has been another body in the coffin. Scientists from Lund University performed a CT scan of the mummified remains of the bishop and founder of the university, and they were shocked to find the body of a premature baby.

"One of the main discoveries when we conducted the CT scanning was that Mr Winstrup is not alone in the coffin," the director of the historical museum at Lund University said. "Actually, he has a companion, a small child, a five- to six-months-old fetus of a human child, and it has been deliberately concealed under his feet at the bottom of the coffin."

According to The Guardian, DNA testing is planned to see if the bishop and the baby are related, but researchers believe someone on the burial staff took advantage of the bishop's burial to give the premature baby a Christian resting place.

It's said the body of Winstrup is one of the best preserved 17th century bodies. Even more impressive is the fact that he wasn't embalmed. Instead, his body naturally dried out.