Chinese anthropologists unearth tomb with 500-year-old mummies

PanARMENIAN.Net - Anthropologists in central China are carefully preserving the mummies of a couple accidentally found in a tomb that is believed to date back some 500 years, Chinese media report.

The tomb was unearthed in Taikang county in Zhoukou, Henan province by a construction crew that was installing plumbing.

The buried man and woman are believed to be the grandson of Gu Zuo, an official under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and the grandson’s wife.

The clothes the mummies wore were so well preserved that a gold-coloured pattern could still be made out on them.

Other finds at the site include a tombstone as well as two crystal coffins. However, some online posts claimed that other valuables, including swords and fans, were stolen by locals when the tomb was unearthed on March 19.

A local official denied that any valuables were stolen, saying the tomb was unlikely to have them since most officials in the Ming dynasty lived frugally because of a crackdown on corruption during the era.