The perfect temperature and oxygen concentration in the mysterious brown liquid that the “Chinese beauty” mummy accidentally discovered by road workers in Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, could be the most important factor in the woman’s seemingly immortality, according to Ancient Origins.
What the workers discovered was a large stone coffin, but many signs showed that it could be an important archaeological discovery, so they reported it to the authorities.
After receiving the coffin, scientists from the Jiangsu Museum spent many years studying it, but many things remained a mystery.
The previous opening of the coffin stunned scientists because inside was the amazing mummy of a woman with a delicate face, with her body, hair, skin, clothes and jewelry intact as if she had just passed away.
Even her willow-leaf eyebrows and black eyelashes were perfectly preserved. Even more shocking was the dating of the items that accompanied her, which showed that she was… 700 years old.
The coffin also contained some strange bones, pottery and other relics. But the most interesting thing was the brown liquid that the mummy had soaked in. Many analyses have been done but still cannot answer whether it was embalming fluid or simply water that had seeped through the coffin over time.
However, some new data shows that the specific environment where the mummy rested was very important to this incredible level of preservation. With moderate temperatures and oxygen levels in the water, bacteria would not be able to grow, effectively slowing or even stopping the decomposition process.
The jewelry and items that accompanied her have led to various studies, providing many interesting details about her life during her lifetime.
Researchers have also tried to excavate more around the area, but unfortunately have not discovered any tombs from the same period. Her identity and social status remain a mystery, the cause of her death and whether her mummy was accidental or intentional… are also open questions.
People can only call her “the Thai Chau mummy”, a temporary name while waiting for further research results, which come in small drops.
