The tomb of a Dowager Duchess who died during the Ming Dynasty was uncovered at a construction site located in the Nanjing province of China.

Chinese archaeologists have excavated the burial site in 2008 and have published their work in the Wenwu journal. Recently, their work has now been translated to English and had been published in the Chinese Cultural Relics journal.

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Live Science reported the accounts of the Chinese archaeologists who also discovered that the tomb has sustained some water damage. Fortunately, the skeletal remains of a woman named Lady Mei were intact.  The interior of the tomb was full of gold baubles and included items such as bracelets, hairpins and a fragrance box. The sophisticatedly designed items were also with precious stones such as turquoise, rubies and sapphires.

The name of Lady Mei and her remarkable story was inscribed in two stone epitaphs that were included inside her tomb. She estimated to have been born in 1430 and was probably in her teens when she got married. Her husband turned out to be a very much older man, Qian Duke Mu Bin who is the ruler of the Yunnan province. 

The duke died in less than a year after Lady Mei was able to produce a son and heir, named Mu Zong. Based on the stone inscriptions, the 21-year-old widow described herself as "the survivor." She focused all her attention in preparing her son to assume the role of duke.

The Chinese emperor at that time was impressed by the way Lady Mei raised her son and gave her the "Dowager Duchess" title. 

When Lady Mei was in her mid-40s, she fell ill and died in the year 1474. She was then buried in the Ming Dynasty capital of that time in Nanjing. The whole of Yunnan province mourned her loss as inscribed in her epitaph.  

Tagsdowager duchess, lady mei, Ming Dynasty, Nanjing, Yunnan, Qian duke, chinese archaeologists, Chinese relics, Live Science