What often comes in mind when people talk about mummies is the sophisticated mummification culture of ancient Egypt intended to preserve the body of the dead so the soul can recognize it and go back to it when the time comes.

While most mummies discovered today are a product of this Egyptian preservation rituals, there have been some rare ones that were accidentally mummified and preserved by nature. And other discoveries also led us to believe that other ancient cultures also practice the ritual of preserving the dead.

Just like what these road workers soon found out when they stumbled upon something totally unexpected.

 
While they were digging a hole 6 feet deep for their road project, they hit something solid. After investigation, they've realized they've actually hit a tomb. Not wanting to disturb anything inside it, they decided to call inthe professionals.

 
When the archaeologists arrived, they unearthed the tomb and found out it was actually 700 years old! Here is the tomb after it was brought to the surface. A team worked together to carefully open it, making sure the contents aren't disturbed.

 
Encased in the stone tomb was a wooden box.

 
After opening the box they found that it contains rare silks and linens lying in some sort of brown liquid.

 
What's behind the layers of fabrics was even more intriguing - a mummy of a woman!

They were amazed to see the mummy and other contents in almost perfect shape even after being underground for over 700 years.

 
They believe that the mummy was a high-ranking member of the Ming Dynasty as she was adorned with beautiful jewels from that time period.

The team carefully moved the mummy out of her tomb for the first time.

 
Wrapping the dead in many layers of fabric is a practice common for a high-ranking member of the Ming Dynasty.

 
Whatever was used to preserve her was truly remarkable that even her arching eyebrows is still in place.

This close up of her shoes shows just how well preserved her corpse was.

 
This is indeed a rare find and with today's advancements in archeology, she'll stay preserved in a museum.

After excavating the site, archaeologists discovered two other other coffins. For sure this incredible find will help us learn more about the Ming Dynasty and the forbidden city of China.

H/T Sliptalk