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Archaeologists Open Coffin on Live TV

Posted on: Thursday, 12 June 2003, 06:00 CDT

Chinese archaeologists opened a 1,000-year-old coffin live on national television Thursday, revealing what was believed to be the body of an ancient tribal nobleman.

Titled "the mystery of the 1,000-year-old coffin," the event was shown on the main state television news at noon from a research center in the northern region of Inner Mongolia.

Archaeologists and police guards in rubber gloves and face masks first lifted off a cover of an outer sarcophagus. They then opened an inner coffin, revealing a body covered in a silk blanket and wearing a necklace, bells around the ankles and a metal-studded mask and helmet.

Both boxes were made of thick slabs of wood with brass handles and decorated with gilt designs of birds, servants and a swirling pattern.

Experts will have to decide whether to clean and study the remains inside the coffin or remove them, the head of the recovery team, Ta La, told China Central Television.

The identity of the deceased is unknown, the broadcast said.

CCTV said the coffin dated from the Liao dynasty, established by warriors from the Khitan tribe who seized power in northern China in 907 A.D., during the decline of the Tang dynasty.

It was found in a treasure-filled grave in Inner Mongolia's Tuerji mountain, CCTV said. The report didn't say when it was found.

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