Mysterious ancient mummy in Saigon

Seventeen years ago, when releasing to hand over the construction site in the area of ​​Cai hamlet, Ward 8, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, construction workers discovered an ancient grave cluster in this area. The information quickly attracted the attention of archaeologists, researched history and media . The nearly intact mummy of a woman became a topic that was hotly debated for a while. Over a decade has passed, everything has started to fade into oblivion .

Royal tomb

In January 1994, during the renovation of the cemeteries and small mound areas to suit the general urban architecture, many workers began to excavate 16 individual tombs in Cai, District neighborhoods. 5.

The other tombs are carried out normally, until the group of workers touch the grave in the campus of a hundred square meters with a solid structure like a communal house.

The historical record of the Museum of Vietnamese History in Ho Chi Minh City is very detailed about the structure of this grave. The rectangular grave is 10 meters long, 6m wide, 1.2m high, 0.8m thick. Three-door gate has a round face shape, decorated with lotus buds on the top of the column. The gate is 1.4m high, 0.8m wide and 0.6m high and has a curved arched roof with dragon-shaped decorative tile tiles. The altar is a wide area of ​​6m long and 4m wide .

Tomb gravel is a large compound block of 3.6m long, 3m wide, 3.2m high, consisting of 2 parts: the previous part has a tombstone submerged in the compound block and the back part is decorated with patterns, each side has a drawing Large round face image. The word on the tombstone was worn out, only 3 words of Ky Ty Nien were read.

Excavation was carried out by leveling graves, archaeologists discovered 2 grave graves. Includes a male grave and a female grave.

Male grave grave is 2.3m long, 0.8m wide, 1.56m deep, from the mouth of the grave to the grave bottom, covered with many layers of compound. Notably, there is a thin layer of sand covered with wood. Guo and the coffin were still in black paint, there were still a few bones in the coffin and objects, such as: 7 gold rings with stones, paper fans, combs, pipes and betel and copper pickles. silver with spherical chain-shaped straps, gold-plated buttons, feather pens .

The female grave is slightly smaller than the male grave. Guo and the coffin were intact, proceeded to open the coffin and open the plank of the coffin, archaeologists found that the inside was arranged neatly. Above are 2 sedge mats spread over the area of ​​the vestige, these 2 mats also keep the fresh colors. Beneath the 2 sedge mats, is a sheet of paper, each roll is about 10cm thick. Next, there is a million leaf sheet (probably the leaf - PV) in silk, there are many Chinese characters on the silk surface but due to the blurring of the typeface, archaeologists can only read 4 words with the meaning ". Royal palace".

Next, there is a 9-knot bundle of fabric also spread over the area of ​​the vest. Most likely, these 9 knots symbolize women according to the belief "Nam That Nuu Nuu" (Trai 7 girl 9).

The main part is a large long wrap wrapped in silk and brocade, with 9 laces also tied 9 buttons. Carrying out the opening of the cloth, the archaeologists were shocked to discover that the body of the woman was mostly intact, her hair still black. Only thing, eyeball and nasal cartilage have been decomposed, the skin and joints, muscles . still soft and pale green. At the foot of this woman was a burlap with a brocade, and on the other side was another couple.

The mummy is exhibited at the new space of the museum.

The mummy is wrapped in dozens of layers of sewing cloth in the style of silk pants and brocade, wide sleeves with a cross button. Stamps are made of agate and gold-plated metal.

On the neck of this mummy, there is a string made of bodhi beads, a small bag of brocade inside with three envelopes containing Chinese characters, including a note of the article of Born in Pure Land, a sheet of names five Buddhas and one paper different from the meaning of just taking refuge. On the wrists of the mummy, there were 2 gold metal rings.

Under the body covering cloth is a layer of pine resin about 10cm thick. Finally, there was a 7-hole round-cut wooden board in the shape of a crystal a few centimeters away from the plank. With this wooden plate, invisible form has created a vestige with two bottoms.

All these items absorb a layer of red liquid, fragrant, slightly sticky.

In the photo taken while opening the corpse, the crimson liquid was also shown to be very thick and felt like a paste.

After preliminary examination, this mummy was transferred to the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital for further research and testing. Next, archaeologists transferred the mummy to the Museum of Vietnamese History. And since then, the mummy has been kept in this place.

The burial items plus the words 'Royal Palace of Shrouds' , besides the location of the grave and the structure above the grave, allow this to be the grave of two people belonging to the Nguyen royal court. The date is defined as the time of King Tu Duc.

Ancient mummy code

Based on the artifacts found in the female grave, archaeologists temporarily accept the view of this mummy's identity. Her name is Nguyen Thi Hieu, possibly lost at age 60.

The preservation of Mrs. Hieu's mummy was to extend the funeral week, which was only done in the upper classes, for the royal prince to like. Next, analyzing the leaflets of refuge and the Chinese characters remaining in the piece of silk covered with the coffin, can be satisfied with the statement: "Mrs. Brand has the name Minh Truong. The missionary monk for her is Zen Master Chanh Niem, whose name is Tien Lieu, belongs to the 37th generation of the Nguyen Nguyen dynasty, Lam Te, and most likely she is a bride or a relative on the outside of Nguyen lords or kings ".

When conducting excavation of the ancient tomb, archaeologists determined that materials to build graves are very sophisticated. It is a mixture of crushed lime from coral, shells mixed with sand, sugar cane molasses, coal and some other substances that have not been analyzed. All of these mixes become a solid structure that "is harder than concrete".

In order to protect the mummy, Mrs. Brand's family may have used this compound to turn into a solid and very solid block that envelops the entire grave deep to the bottom of the grave. When excavated, archaeologists had to rely on the strength of 15 workers to dig up small pieces of this structure block, to net 40 days to touch the sand about 40cm thick covered the coffin of the coffin.

The famous archaeologist Do Dinh Truat, who was present from the beginning to the end to supervise and understand the excavation of the ancient tomb described in detail the tomb and the mummy identity.

According to archaeologist Do Dinh Truat, the coffin is wrapped in a thick wooden coffin, 0.5m long and 2.2m high. All the sarcophagus and coffins are covered with an ancient paint, very good and sealed like a layer of tar (tar). It is because of this paint, that rainwater infiltrates into the ground cannot penetrate the coat and the embalming solution does not spill out. The solution does not spill outside, making the body of the dead well preserved. That's why Nguyen Thi Hieu's corpse is almost completely intact, while the body of the next grave (very high possibility is Mrs. Hieu's husband) the solution is spilled out, so only the bones are left. .

The rest of the comrades, which were placed next to Ms. Li's legs, were made of very good material, possibly a type of silk fathers. On the body of the body, decorated with thin golden threads, attached to each other to form a daisies, it was joined by thin gold braids.

The piece of wooden planks below the coffin in Mrs. grave's grave was carved with 7 holes according to the constellation Dai Hung Tinh Bac Dau very similar to the ancient tombs of the arches, the royal kings had been excavated in the area. North. The concept of the constellation The Big Dipper of the North Dau comes from Taoism, the ancient people believe that the constellation above will protect the dead souls from the calamities of life in the underworld.

Regarding the solution of mummy-covered mummy Ms. Hieu, the museum guide told me that it was made up of a solution of grout and turpentine. The wet cellar mortar in the North is also known as pink silk, a natural compound with very high adhesion.

Archaeologist Do Van Ninh wrote that these preservation methods kept the ancient tombs almost intact, including the coffins and relics buried. Even the fresh areca pieces, the betel nut, the medicine box, the paper fan, the rosary . all have the same color as the new one, the feeling that it can be taken and used.

After being intruded by air, Mrs. Hieu's body was no longer as soft as it was surrounded by liquid. Observing her body in a glass cage placed at the Museum, seeing her corpse become as dry as a dry piece of areca. Only on his head, there were still long black hair tips, fluttering. Her eye sockets and nose were almost completely decomposed.

A few years ago, when I went to the Museum of Sightseeing, I also saw her belongings. But now, Ms. Hieu's body has been placed in another room, more beautiful, more open . but due to the structure of the room, these items are no longer spaces for display to be kept indoors. Warehouse of the Museum. The pieces of his skull were also stored in this warehouse. Periodically, the body of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hieu will be taken out of the sealed cage to preserve with modern chemicals. Probably after many more years, her body will decompose itself (?!).

It can be said that the mummy remains almost intact by Mrs. Hieu, a very unique mummy that the archaeologists accidentally discovered in Saigon. In order to further verify Ms. Cheng's identity, it may still have to wait. Including the original place of birth, family, function, relationship with Gia Long dynasty .