China : Ancient coffin or silk treasure chest?

　　An archaeological survey in China excavated a 2,200 year old coffin from Jingzhou city Hubei Province of central China. The casket is likely to have enclosed a good amount of silk fabric and a specialized team has started preparation to open it on November 29.

　　Mr Yan Pin, director of Jingzhou Cultural Heritage Bureau stated that the tomb belonging to 200 B.C was relocated in a store house in the City’s museum where it is going open on Thursday.

　　This extremely well preserved tomb whose owner has not been identified yet, is known to have four layers of delicate and well designed silk cloth wrapped around it when it was first found. After the research done on the coffin, experts believe that a large amount of silk is likely to be found inside the casket as well.

　　Experts are being very careful about opening the coffin because exposure to air can easily carbonize and destroy silk which is nearly 2,000 year old. Blocking sunlight, sterilizing the warehouse and many other measures are being taken for the opening to be done on Thursday.