Xinjiang Mummies

On October 9, 1993, more than 10 mummified bodies were found deep in the Mountain of Flames in Xinjiang. The 2000-year-old mummies were well preserved, wearing fur clothing, shoes and felt hats.

In Shanshan County, located 300 kilometers east of Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Xinjiang launched an excavation of 26 Warring States-Period tombs that lay on both sides of Toyuk. The team excavated a large number of funerary offerings, including pottery, wood, copper and stone implements.

An archaeological expert believed that the people buried in the tombs were from an ancient state, Cheshi, which existed before the Western Han Dynasty (207 BC - AD 220) and was one of the 16 states in the western regions of China during the Qin and Han dynasties. The tombs were among the best-preserved of the Subeixi ancient tombs group.

The numerous unearthed relics are of great importance in the study of the history and culture of Cheshi as well as to the research of clothing, medicine, agriculture and animal husbandry in the western regions of China.