Mumia (medicinal powder)

Mumia (mumia vera; mumiya, mummia, mumie, mummi, mummy, pulvis mumiae, mummy powder) may refer to certain different medicinal powders, often represented as being of Egyptian origin (as mumia vera aegyptiaca), that were historically manufactured as a general remedy for various ailments. The first is a powder of bitumen (asphalt), referred to in the Arabic as mūmiyā and ancient Greek as pissasphaltus; the second is a powder of bitumen extracted from mummified remains that had been embalmed; and the third is a powder of the complete mummified human remains. The substitution of bitumen for mummified remains in Europe is attributed to a translation error that persisted for some centuries in the Medieval period.

In addition to "mumia," the medicinally-used mummified remains were also referred to as: Armensünderfleisch (poor sinner's flesh); Schwarze ehre (black honour).