Historic mummies and skeletons have been investigated extensively by modern diagnostic imaging using computed tomography. But magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has never been applied successfully to mummies in a non-invasive way without tissue rehydration. The aim of this study is to show the feasibility and diagnostic impact of mobile MR technology to historic human tissues.The natural glacier mummy Iceman, a mummified recent human cadaver, historic mummified body parts, historic bones, and living volunteers have been analysed by non-invasive, single sided NMR with the NMR-MOUSE ® . We acquired high-resolution depth profiles and T 2 relaxation curves of the head region of the Iceman mummy in situ in the storage room at the Museum and of the cadaver in the hospital. A spatial differentiation of surface ice layer, cutis, and skull bone up to a depth of 5mm was possible. In ancient Egyptian mummified specimens, the thickness of a fingernail and a differentiation of a single bandage layer versus the skin underneath were possible. A comparison of depth profiles through different foreheads of mummies, skulls, and living people gives strong evidence, that single-sided NMR with the NMR-MOUSE is a non-invasive technique to determine bone density. Our results demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of non-clinical MRI to visualize historic human tissues in a non-invasive approach.