500-year-old mummies unearthed at Chinese construction site

World Today

Source: Weibo user Wuxi Daoren “Taoist Priest Wuxi”

Two 500-year-old mummies were discovered at a construction site in central China’s Henan province last week.

Video from Sina news:

Based on a stone inscription, they are believed to be from a the tomb of a Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) official named Gu Zuo, the China Youth Network reported.

The mummies are a man believed to be the grandson of Gu Zuo and his wife, the South China Morning Post reported, citing the Dahe Daily.

Source: Weibo user Wuxi Daoren “Taoist Priest Wuxi”

The tomb was 8 meters long (26 feet), and about 80 meters in circumference (262 feet), according to the China Youth Network. They were inside two crystal coffins, SCMP reported.

The local cultural relics office was immediately informed and rushed to the scene.

“A relatively complete 500 or 600 year old body, with almost no damage to their clothing, there’s no way there isn’t archeological value,” Chinese Academy of Sciences Science Communication Research Center researcher Wang Deheng told Dahe Daily.