The best mummy ever: The 2,000-year-old preserved body of the Lady of Dai still has her own hair and soft skin

She may be 2,100 years old but she still has soft skin, all her own hair and eyelashes and her arms and legs can still bend.

And the Lady of Dai is considered the best preserved mummy ever discovered.

The body is of Xin Zhui, who was the wife of the Marquis of Dai and lived during the Han dynasty.

The body of Xin Zhui, the wife of the Marquis of Dai, which is considered the best preserved mummy ever 

The body of Xin Zhui, the wife of the Marquis of Dai, which is considered the best preserved mummy ever

When she died more than 2,000 years ago she was overweight and was believed to have been suffering from high blood pressure, clogged arteries, diabetes and also had a severely damaged heart.

Her tomb was eventually discovered inside a hillside in Hunan in China when workers were trying to find an air raid shelter.

Scientists were stunned to discover how much her remains had been preserved as all her internal organs were in tact along with her own type-A blood.

A recreation of what the Lady of Dai might have looked like before her death at he age of 50 from heart disease 

A recreation of what the Lady of Dai might have looked like before her death at he age of 50 from heart disease

And so much mystery still surrounds the case, that a musical about Lady Dai’s life is playing in China.

The show, called Beauty of the Han Dynasty is described as a lovely story about Lady Dai and her husband Li Cang.

It is being played in Changsha city, the provincial capital of Hunan Province where the mummy was found.

After analysing her body, scientists believe that Lady Dai died aged 50 from heart disease due to her lavish lifestyle.

Her body was so well preserved that they also believe the last thing she ate before her death was melon.

When her tomb was discovered the body had been buried with her wardrobe of 100 silk garments, 160 carved wooden figures representing her servants as well as her make up and toiletries.

The body itself was swaddled in more than 20 layers of silk and then sealed within four coffins packed with charcoal and sealed with clay, making it waterтιԍнт so bacteria could not enter.

An artist's impression of the burial chamber where the Lady of Dai was found. The body itself was swaddled in more than 20 layers of silk and then sealed within four coffins packed with charcoal and sealed with clay

An artist’s impression of the burial chamber where the Lady of Dai was found. The body itself was swaddled in more than 20 layers of silk and then sealed within four coffins packed with charcoal and sealed with clay

 

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