'Beef broth' found in ancient tomb

The "beef broth" found in an ancient tomb in Henan province. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Suspicious "beef broth" was found in several "ding" (ancient cooking vessels) unearthed in an ancient tomb during a recent excavation in Central China's Henan province.

Archaeologists identified that the bones in the ding were forelimbs of cattle, and guessed that the water in the ding may be beef broth. After the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology released the news online with photos, some netizens jokingly said that the broth was one-thousand-year-old beef broth, and predicted that the tomb owner was a foodie.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, Wu Zhijiang, who is in charge of the excavation, claimed that the tomb dated back to Chu Kingdom in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and clarified that the "beef broth" was actually underground water seepage.

"The water in the ding looks like broth, while it is actually ground water. We found that there is water seepage in the tomb pit, as the water level is quite high, so it is actually flooded," Wu said.

Wu said the ding in the Chu tomb was usually used for sacrifice and beef, sheep, or pig was always put inside the tomb as offerings. While it is still not clear whether the recently discovered beef bones were placed in the ding raw or cooked.

Wu said the tomb was robbed during the beginning of this year and then the institute conducted rescue excavation. According to preliminary findings, the tomb owner was a noble.