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17. 12. 08. - 12:00

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17. 12. 08. - 12:00

Tomb Raiders find Swiss watch in Ming grave

Archaeologists have been stumped after finding a 100-year-old Swiss watch in an ancient tomb that was sealed more than 400 years ago.  

The real-life tomb raiders were the first visitors to the Ming dynasty grave in Shangsi, southern China, since its occupant's funeral.  

But inside they discovered a miniature watch in the shape of a ring marked 'Swiss' encrusted in mud and rock.  

"When we tried to remove the soil wrapped around the coffin, suddenly a piece of rock dropped off and hit the ground with metallic sound," said Jiang Yanyu, former curator of the Guangxi Museum.  

"We picked up the object, and found it was a ring. After removing the covering soil and examining it further, we were shocked to see it was a watch," he added.  

The time had been stopped at 10:06 am, and on the back had 'Swiss' engraved on it.   Now the puzzled time team have asked experts from Beijing for help.  

"Watches weren't around in the Ming dynasty and Switzerland as a country didn't even exist then," said one archaeologist.

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