Although the burial chamber and the discovery of the artifacts were an important find, it was the well-preserved condition of Lady Dai that fascinated researchers the most. When her mummy was excavated, her skin was found to be fully intact like that of a living person. It felt soft when touched and seemed to have retained moisture and elasticity.
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Even her hair was well preserved where she had hair inside her nostrils, on her eyebrows and eyelashes. That was extremely puzzling. How was it possible for a mummy to have such features intact even after 2000 years of burial? An autopsy conducted on Lady Dai revealed that although she died in 163 BC, her mummified body resembled a recently buried corpse.
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It was unfortunate that Xin Zhui’s well-preserved mummy soon started deteriorating once it came into contact with surface air and oxygen. The images that you see here are not entirely indicative of the mummy in its original condition. Here are some of the artifacts discovered in the tomb.
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