When you speak about Mummies, instantly the image of a darkened corpse with shredded skin and grimacing smile come to mind. Or, you could be thinking of a corpse wrapped in cloth, yet one mummy exists in the world today very much intact and it is 2100 years old.
1World’s most well-preserved mummy discovered
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The mummified body of a Chinese woman Xin Hui who died in 163 BC was discovered in 1971 surprisingly intact with hair on her head and even her skin soft to touch. It was astonishing for scientists to find a 2100-year-old Chinese mummy in such exceptional state of preservation. Even her veins still had blood in them which turned out to be type A.
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2More like a living person than a corpse
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Xin Zhui is also known as Lady Dai and nicknamed the Diva mummy. Now almost 2000 years old, she was found to belong to the Chinese Western Han dynasty that existed between 206-220 BC. The mummy was found in an incredible condition which is why she is also known as the most well-preserved mummy ever in human history.
Even her skin was soft when touched. Her ligaments were still flexible which is unusual for a corpse that resembles more a living person fast asleep instead.
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3Discovered when workers were digging near a bomb shelter
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Lady Dai’s mummy was discovered in 1971 during a time when laborers were digging close to a bomb shelter near Changsa. Her tomb was a huge crypt which the workers stumbled upon while digging. It yielded a treasure trove of precious artifacts that numbered almost a thousand consisting of makeup kits, toiletries, 162 wooden hands carved figurines which presumably represented her servants and 182 pieces of lacquerware. Even a meal was found in the burial chamber which was meant for her consumption in the afterlife.
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Because of the nature of the artifacts and associated items and inscriptions on the tomb, researchers found her to be Xin Hui, the wife of ruler of the Han imperial fiefdom of Dai. She was 50 years old at the time of death. Researchers digitally reconstructed her looks and came up with this image.
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