A mummy found inside an ancient tomb uncovered by locals in Xiangcheng City in Henan Province may be the remains of a Qing Dynasty official.
The burial site was discovered while an excavator was working at a construction site that used to be farmland. It was 20 square meters in area, and two meters deep. Inside were three coffins, with the well-preserved, robed mummy located in the central one. The other two contained skeletons.
A local called Mr. Liu told Sina News that the mummy’s face was black, but with clear features.
“He wore a robe of Qing Dynasty and a long braided ponytail, known as the queue hairstyle imposed on the Han Chinese during the Qing Dynasty,” Mr. Liu added. “Under his head was a pile of white cotton.”
Copper coins have been found in the area in the past. The Qing Dynasty lasted from 1644 to 1912, and was China’s last imperial dynasty.
Several villagers who saw the mummy noticed that the corpse’s hair and skin had not decayed, and the man’s teeth and beard were well-preserved, according to Dahe.com.
A local called Zhang Tongfu, aged 92, arrived at the site that afternoon, and claimed that the tombs belonged to his ancestors, probably his great grandfather, who had two wives.
Zhang Tongfu said that the mummy’s name was Zhang Guozhen, Dahe.com reported. Many people in Zhang Tongfu’s family wanted to move the coffins and rebury them the next day, but they disappeared overnight.
The relatives believe that the construction crew were worried about potential delays, and that they might have to pay money to the Zhang clan. They expressed sadness that their ancestors could not rest in peace.
with research by Lisa Huang.
