In the ruins of a medieval convent in the French city of Rennes, archaeologists discovered five heart-shaped urns made of lead, each containing an embalmed human heart.
Now, roughly four centuries after they were buried, researchers have used modern science to study these old hearts. It turns out three of them bore tell-tale signs of a heart disease very common today.
"Every heart was different and revealed its share of surprises," anthropologist Rozenn Colleter of the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research said on Wednesday.