Why is the body of the owner of an ancient tomb unearthed in Inner Mongolia more than 200 years ago not rotting yet?

The reason why the corpse of the tomb owner unearthed in Inner Mongolia did not decay is due to the local geographical location and temperature conditions. These conditions can create a natural "drying box" for the mummy, and the tomb chamber is also in a natural environment. In a sterile environment, there is no rot.

In recent years, ancient city ruins have been discovered 40 kilometers away from Turpan, including 178 optical cultural sites. This place is collectively called the "Astana Tombs". Before the late Qing Dynasty, thieves often visited this place due to the large number of ancient tombs, but fortunately the scale was small.

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The ancient corpses unearthed in the Turpan area were naturally formed under special conditions without artificial treatment. They belong to the type of mummies and are similar to the embalmed corpses discovered in ancient Egypt. There is a big difference in the mummies that form after processing. So, what conditions can keep a body from decaying? First of all, Turpan has a special geographical environment. It is located 156 meters below sea level and is the lowest place on land in my country. The basin has strong sunlight and is surrounded by mountains. The hot air accumulates in the basin, creating a long-term high temperature environment.

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Secondly, the basin has little precipitation, only 16 mm per year, but its evaporation is as high as 3,000 mm. Most tombs are located in high terrain, with high temperatures and droughts, and are surrounded by a bottom layer of wind-eroded quicksand with loose soil and strong air permeability. These make the base a natural "drying box" where the body can quickly dehydrate.

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Finally, the natural sterile environment in the base room also allows the mummy to be preserved for a long time. The mummies unearthed from the ancient tombs in Astana are different from Egyptian mummies and mummies wrapped in lime or charcoal unearthed in mainland my country. They are completely masterpieces of nature. In the Astana Guki group, up to 80% of the corpses have not decayed and have become mummies. In some cases, even the eyelashes and black and white eyeballs exposed in the eye slits can be seen. This well-preserved mummy is comparable to Egyptian mummies.

In general, the reason why the body of the tomb owner did not rot is because the geographical location and temperature conditions of the cemetery formed a natural "drying box", and the tomb chamber is also a natural sterile environment. . Therefore, the body of the tomb owner was not rotted.