中国で保存状態の極めてよい明代の女性のミイラが見つかる 眉毛も残り、弾力性がある状態 明代の服飾の「生きた資料」

日本で報道されたかどうか、確認してないんだけど、イギリスのDaily Mailがなぜか詳しく報道。

中国江蘇省の秦州市で道路工事中に発見された、明代の年配の女性のミイラである。
写真がいくつも掲載されているのだが、これを見ると、乾いたミイラではなく、馬王堆漢墓の時のように、水に浸かっていて、軟組織が保存されており、着衣や靴などもしっかり残っている。指には翡翠のように見える大きな玉をはめた指環をしている。顔には
　眉毛がのこっている
状態で、面影が推し量れる。
絹や木綿の衣服を纏い、中国の報道では
　下着も含めて全部で13枚の衣服を纏っていた
という。リンク先の画像は、靴を履いた足元の様子だが
Wonderfully preserved: This close up of the mummy's shoes shows how well preserved her corpse it
布靴のステッチの一針一針が手に取るようにわかる。本当にすばらしい保存状態である。先が尖った小さな靴なので、恐らく
　纏足
していると思われる。

現在、秦州市博物館に運んで、調査中だ。

いくつか選んで、画像のリンクも貼っておく。

She's aged well: Face of incredibly preserved 700-year-old mummy found by chance by Chinese road workers

By Oliver Pickup
Last updated at 2:55 PM on 4th March 2011

Amazing discovery: The 700-year-old mummy was found in the city of Taizhou, in Jiangsu Province(photo)

Oh mother! The woman, discovered two metres below the surface in a wooden tomb, was wearing a Ming Dynasty dress and is thought to have been at a high-ranking level(photo)l

Bejewelled: The right hand of the 700-year-old mummy shows her preserved skin, and a ring adorns her finger(photo)

Eyebrows still intact highlighting amazing level of preservation
Mummy believed to be a high-ranking member of the Ming Dynasty
Wearing silk and cotton, she's the first major discovery in years in the area

These incredible pictures show a 700-year-old mummy, which was discovered by chance - by road workers - in excellent condition in eastern China.

The corpse of the high-ranking woman believed to be from the Ming Dynasty - the ruling power in China between 1368 and 1644 - was stumbled across by a team who were looking to expand a street.

And the mummy, which was found in the city of Taizhou, in the Jiangsu Province, along with two other wooden tombs, offers a fascinating insight into life as it was back then.

Discovered two metres below the road surface, the woman's features - from her head to her shoes - have retained their original condition, and have hardly deteriorated.

When the discovery was made by the road workers, late last month, Chinese archaeologists, from the nearby Museum of Taizhou, were called into excavate the area, the state agency Xinhua News reported.

They were surprised by the remarkably good condition of the woman's skin, hair, eyelashes and face. It was as though she had only recently died.

Her body, which measures 1.5 metres high, was found at the construction site immersed in a brown liquid inside the coffin.
And the coffin was opened earlier this week, on March 1, much to the excitement of the local city - and further afield. And the right hand of the 700-year-old mummy showed her preserved skin, and a ring.
The mummy was wearing traditional Ming dynasty costume, and also in the coffin were bones, ceramics, ancient writings and other relics.
This is the latest discovery after a lull of three years in the area. Indeed, between 1979 and 2008 five mummies were found, all in very good condition.
Those findings raising the interest in learning the techniques of preservation funeral of this dynasty and customs in time to bury the dead.
Director of the Museum of Taizhou, Wang Weiyin, told Xinhua that the mummy's clothes are made mostly of silk, with a little cotton.
He said usually silk and cotton are very hard to preserve and excavations found that this mummifying technology was used only at very high-profile funerals.
The first finding of the Ming Dynasty in Taizhou dates from May 1979 and led the opening of the museum.
At that time the bodies were also found intact, but due to lack of experience of archaeologists only clothing, belts and clamps could be preserved.
The Ming Dynasty, who built the Forbidden City and restored the Great Wall, was the last in China and marked an era of economic growth and cultural splendour which produced the first commercial contacts with the West.

Her body, which measures 1.5 metres high, was found at the construction site immersed in a brown liquid inside the coffin.
And the coffin was opened earlier this week, on March 1, much to the excitement of the local city - and further afield. And the right hand of the 700-year-old mummy showed her preserved skin, and a ring.
The mummy was wearing traditional Ming dynasty costume, and also in the coffin were bones, ceramics, ancient writings and other relics.
This is the latest discovery after a lull of three years in the area. Indeed, between 1979 and 2008 five mummies were found, all in very good condition.
Those findings raising the interest in learning the techniques of preservation funeral of this dynasty and customs in time to bury the dead.
Director of the Museum of Taizhou, Wang Weiyin, told Xinhua that the mummy's clothes are made mostly of silk, with a little cotton.
He said usually silk and cotton are very hard to preserve and excavations found that this mummifying technology was used only at very high-profile funerals.
The first finding of the Ming Dynasty in Taizhou dates from May 1979 and led the opening of the museum.
At that time the bodies were also found intact, but due to lack of experience of archaeologists only clothing, belts and clamps could be preserved.
The Ming Dynasty, who built the Forbidden City and restored the Great Wall, was the last in China and marked an era of economic growth and cultural splendour which produced the first commercial contacts with the West.