Mysterious 900-Year-Old 'Grand Lady' Skeleton Found in a Watery Coffin Buried With a Miniature Doll House

To this date, hundreds of ancient remains have been discovered by archaeologists. These remains are a mirror into the lives of the past population. In 2018, archaeologists announced the discovery of a skeleton in China, stated Live Science.  

The skeleton stood apart from the others of its kind because of the circumstances in which it was discovered in Tieguai Village. The remains were located in a water-filled tomb. The tomb was excavated between June and September 2014 by experts from the Nanling County Cultural Relics Administration and Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Examinations revealed that the coffin was nine centuries old, and the skeleton was of a woman. The woman was buried along with several grave goods, many of which archaeologists garnered from the tomb. 

The grave goods comprised a silver pendant featuring two dragons in the pursuit of pearls and a model house. The latter was kind of a miniature doll house that even contained tiny furniture. Objects like these, which are miniatures of real-life structures, are called miniqui in Chinese culture. This house replica depicted a courtyard and three rooms. Researchers noted that there was a lot of distance between the central bay and smaller secondary rooms, showcasing certain features of past architecture in the region. The tomb was made of an inner and outer coffin. Above the inner coffin, there was a banner that claimed that a "Grand Lady" from  "Ankang Commandery" was laid to rest in the tomb. It was difficult to decipher the woman's name from the banner, but after initial examinations, researchers think it is close to née Jian.

Experts noted that there were silver and gold hairpins still attached to the woman's head in the tomb. Embroidered shoes graced the skeleton's feet inside the coffin. The silver bracelets on her arm indicated that the woman was possibly buried wearing jewelry. Archaeologists found a string of 83 bronze coins on the woman's abdomen. At the base of the inner coffin, there were around 200 bronze coins. Researchers figured out the era in which the woman lived through these bronze coins. Investigation revealed that these coins were minted sometime between A.D. 713 and A.D. 1100. This finding, and the examination of remains, indicated that the woman took her last breath not long after A.D. 1100.

The time of the woman's death indicated that she lived during the Song Dynasty. Despite the passage of so many centuries, the remains were in a comparatively exceptional condition. "The skeleton [of the Grand Lady] is essentially preserved, complete with fingernails and hair," the archaeologists involved in the excavation shared. Beneath the woman's right hand, the team spotted zongzi remnants, a kind of rice dumpling. The inner coffin had several paintings that supposedly featured this 'Grand Lady.' Each of the portraits had the woman wearing different garments and accessories. Archaeologists located another tomb near the Grand Lady's coffin. This tomb had been looted, and therefore, very few artifacts could be garnered from it. Researchers think that the tomb could have belonged to one of the Grand Lady's relatives.