Joan of Arc relics 'are mummies'

Sacred relics thought to belong to Joan of Arc are forgeries fashioned from Egyptian mummies, scientists have claimed.

The holy artefacts, believed to have survived the pyre upon which the French heroine was burned at the stake in 1431, are recognised by the Church as genuine.

But forensic experts who were allowed to test the remains dated the relics to more than 2,000 years ago – not the 15th century.

More: