Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
This set is inspired by a Roman arena.
Bozdağ Film Platolari
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Wortley built the wooden backpack she used while retracing Alexandra David-Néel’s journey from a chair she found on the street in London.
How Elise Wortley Climbed Mont Blanc in 1830s Women’s Attire
29 days ago
Simplicity is key: Just a slice of bread with a sprinkling of salt and pepper is the perfect accompaniment.
The Sweet Second Life of Creole Cream Cheese
30 days ago
My rendition of frog legs, popping mushroom curry, pad prik khing with salted egg yolk, and sweet khanom thuai.
Recreating My Favorite Meal From Thailand
30 days ago
Inside London’s Gorgeously Curated ‘Art Restaurants’
30 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Chile Arica Museo de Sitio (In Situ Museum)

Museo de Sitio (In Situ Museum)

Walk on a glass floor suspended over ancient mummified remains.

Arica, Chile

Added By
Scott Mansfield
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Walk on glass panels over the exposed mummies.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Walk on glass panels over the exposed mummies.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Mummy with feathered headdress, wrapped in reeds.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Recreated example of a Chinchorro mummy.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
One of the mummies visible through the glass floor of the museum.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

While excavating an old private home in 2004 with the plan to turn the building into a hotel, construction workers in Arica, Chile, came across the remains of a mummy. Further excavation revealed a total of 32 mummies, meaning the entire crawl space of the house was atop an ancient cemetery.

The mummies were Chinchorro people who lived on a section of the southern Peruvian and northern Chilean shore from 7020 to 1110 BC. Chinchorro mummies, the oldest in the world, are common in this area, in large part because the arid soil of the Atacama Desert is rich in nitrate salts, which both dry and preserve organic materials.

Rather than move the remains, the owner helped transform the site into a small museum. The mummies, along with their funerary objects, were left in place, and a glass floor was built over them so visitors can walk above and closely view the exposed remains. Archaeologists have discovered several more layers of mummies beneath these. 

Upstairs from the “in situ” cemetery, a covered terrace overlooks the expanse of the town and leads to a small room with panels and displays that describe the lives of the Chinchorro, and the elaborate method they often used to mummify their dead. They made them into virtual statues by first removing  the skin, soft tissue, and organs from the body and replacing the body's internal parts with combinations of ashes, animal hair, mud, and vegetable matter. After placing sticks along sides of the bones, they covered the body with a paste of white-ash, reattached the skin, and painted the entire body. Finally, they placed a clay mask over the face, and covered the scalp with a wig. 

Related Tags

Mummies Death Museums

Know Before You Go

Cards with written explanation are available in Spanish and English and the wall behind the in situ cemetery explains the unique attributes for each mummy.

Community Contributors

Added By

Scott Mansfield

Published

October 10, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.lonelyplanet.com/chile/arica/attractions/museo-de-sitio-colon-10/a/poi-sig/1303838/363271
  • https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mummies/peru
  • http://www.jstor.org/stable/971599
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchorro_mummies
  • https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-oldest-mummies-chile/index.html
Museo de Sitio (In Situ Museum)
10 Cristóbal Colón
Arica
Chile
-18.480622, -70.321634
Get Directions

Nearby Places

World's Largest Coca-Cola Logo

Arica, Chile

miles away

Miculla Petroglyphs

Tacna, Peru

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Arica

Arica

Chile

Places 2

Nearby Places

World's Largest Coca-Cola Logo

Arica, Chile

miles away

Miculla Petroglyphs

Tacna, Peru

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Arica

Arica

Chile

Places 2

Related Places

  • Mummified bodies discovered in the crypt of the Church of St. Stephen, Ferentillo, Umbria, Italy.

    Ferentillo, Italy

    Museum of the Mummies

    Naturally preserved bodies are eerily staged throughout the crypt in varying poses.

  • The mummified remains of the vicar are visible from his glass encased coffin.

    St. Thomas am Blasenstein, Austria

    Luftg'selchter Pfarrer (The Air-Dried Priest)

    In a crypt underneath this church lies a naturally mummified vicar whose story is surrounded by mystery.

  • The fresco after restoration

    Palermo, Italy

    'Trionfo della Morte'

    This uncanny fresco celebrating the "triumph of death" was split into four pieces to be moved to another museum.

  • Archaeological Museum Benahoarita.

    La Palma, Spain

    Museo Arqueológico Benahoarita (Archaeological Museum Benahoarita)

    Tools, pottery, and mummies showcase the history of La Palma's native people.

  • Qilakitsoq mummies at the Greenland National Museum.

    Nuuk, Greenland

    Qilakitsoq Mummies

    These eight mummies are the best-preserved human remains ever discovered in North America.

  • Permanent collections.

    Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Museum Tot Zover

    This museum inside Amsterdam's largest cemetery explores how people deal with death.

  • Engraving workshop at the museum

    Aguascalientes, Mexico

    Museo José Guadalupe Posada

    A museum dedicated to the famous Mexican illustrator's iconic calaveras.

  • The 19th-century mummified remains of an unknown woman.

    Encarnación de Díaz, Mexico

    Mummies of Museo de las Animas

    An impressive if morbid collection of mummified remains from different eras of the region's history.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.