HARTFORD, Conn. -- The secrets of mummies were revealed Thursday at the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford.

Scientists who have been investigating dozens of mummies found in a small Mexican mining town unraveled their findings.

The scientists said the mummies were not wrapped like in Egyptian times, but that they were accidentally preserved by being stored in above-ground crypts exposed to high heat.

Scientists from Quinnipiac University and Texas State University examined 22 of the mummies found in Guanajuato, Mexico. Using CT scans and other medical equipment, the scientists said they discovered some with fractured bones, one that died during childbirth and one who died from tuberculosis.

They said that the number of mummified babies sheds light on the high infant-mortality rate.

"It's not only affecting Mexico, it affects everyone in the world to know when disease processes began," said Dr. Yvette Bailey.

The bodies were removed from crypts in the town cemetery about 100 years ago after buried tax payments stopped coming from their families.

Scientists said they died between 1850 and 1950.

The mummies are now part of a museum in Mexico that gets over 7,000 visitors per day.

Scientists said that they will continue their study, hoping to determine the name and age of each mummy.

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