Century-old Swiss watch discovered in ancient tomb sealed for 400 years

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Herb	Century-old Swiss watch discovered in ancient tomb sealed for 400 years	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1337 (12/21/08 9:26 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None ?? Could this be true? You decide. http://www.nation.com.pk/...-found-in-400yearold-tomb
Whyte Eagle	Posted from link above	#1	[-]
Posts: 12753 (12/21/08 10:08 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Swiss watch found in 400-year-old tomb ARCHEOLOGISTS in China are baffled after finding a tiny Swiss watch in a 400-year-old tomb. The watch ring was discovered as archeologists were making a documentary with two journalists from Shangsi town. "When we tried to remove the soil wrapped around the coffin, a piece of rock suddenly dropped off and hit the ground with a metallic sound,? said Jiang Yanyu, former curator of the Guangxi Autonomous Region 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." The time was stopped at 10:06am, and on the back was engraved the word "Swiss", reports the People's Daily. Local experts say they are confused as they believe the tomb had been undisturbed since it was created during the Ming dynasty 400 years ago. They have suspended the dig and are waiting for experts to arrive from Beijing and help them unravel the mystery. - ANANOVA
mrjimsfc		#2	[-]
Posts: 231 (12/21/08 9:42 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Is this a fake tomb? Just another something to draw world attention? It makes me skeptical of a LOT of "ancient artifacts". Just maybe, these things are not as ancient or valuable as they would have you believe. "If a man neglects to enforce his rights, he cannot complain if, after a while, the law follows his example." —Oliver Wendell Holmes
Workjay	Century-old Swiss watch discovered in ancient tomb sealed for 400 years	#3	[-]
Posts: 96 (01/01/09 11:53 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	http://www.dailymail.co.u...omb-sealed-400-years.html Archaeologists are stumped after finding a 100-year-old Swiss watch in an ancient tomb that was sealed more than 400 years ago. They believed they were the first to visit the Ming dynasty grave in Shangsi, southern China, since its occupant's funeral. But inside they uncovered a miniature watch in the shape of a ring marked 'Swiss' that is thought to be just a century old. Mystery: Archeologists have uncovered a 100-year-old watch in a tomb believed to have been undisturbed for 400 years The mysterious timepiece was encrusted in mud and rock and had stopped at 10:06 am. Watches were not around at the time of the Ming Dynasty and Switzerland did not even exist as a country, an expert pointed out. The archaeologists were filming a documentary with two journalists when they made the puzzling discovery. '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 Ming Dynasty - or the Empire of the Great Ming - was the was ruling dynasty in China from 1368 to 1644.
Whyte Eagle	Reposted from link above to include pic of artifact ...	#4	[-]
Posts: 12963 (01/02/09 12:28 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Mystery as century-old Swiss watch discovered in ancient tomb sealed for 400 years By Cher Thornhill Archaeologists are stumped after finding a 100-year-old Swiss watch in an ancient tomb that was sealed more than 400 years ago. They believed they were the first to visit the Ming dynasty grave in Shangsi, southern China, since its occupant's funeral. But inside they uncovered a miniature watch in the shape of a ring marked 'Swiss' that is thought to be just a century old. Mystery: Archeologists have uncovered a 100-year-old watch in a tomb believed to have been undisturbed for 400 years The mysterious timepiece was encrusted in mud and rock and had stopped at 10:06 am. Watches were not around at the time of the Ming Dynasty and Switzerland did not even exist as a country, an expert pointed out. The archaeologists were filming a documentary with two journalists when they made the puzzling discovery. '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 Ming Dynasty - or the Empire of the Great Ming - was the was ruling dynasty in China from 1368 to 1644.
Whyte Eagle	Re: Century-old Swiss watch discovered in ancient tomb sealed for 400 years	#5	[-]
Posts: 12964 (01/02/09 12:30 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Interesting article WorkJay ... I remember reading the original when it was posted but it didn't have an image of the artifact ... for some reason I had envisioned it being a full size watch ... but now appears to be in the form of a ring? That indeed is odd ... Last Edited By: Whyte Eagle 01/02/09 12:33 PM. Edited 1 times.
ptcarroll		#6	[-]
Posts: 582 (01/02/09 3:07 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	The obvious answer - time travel from Europe to the Ming Dynasty! We're lucky it didn't cause our universe to self-destruct.
rockman		#7	[-]
Posts: 1038 (02/06/09 6:07 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Something tells me these archeologist were not the first ones there!
EE THr	Another Picture	#8	[-]
Posts: 7 (02/22/09 11:29 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Well, I Googled it, and found this-- http//xenophilius.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/swiss-watch-in-400-year-old-tomb/ 1. I think it looks like a cast piece, not a functioning watch. Because there appears to be no crystal, nor enough of a bezel to hold one. And if there never was a crystal, then the hands would be damaged. Also, although it is reported in the above link that watches this small, and fashioned into rings, were made 100 years ago, the oval style wasn't technologically possible until 1911, due to the arrangement of the innards (also according to the above link), which I assume refers to the gearing. I think it would be unlikely that a miniature version of this type would have been produced at the same time, because it was unique enough on its own. Also note that the bottom of the oval bezel area is flat. 2. The "band" portion appears to be of the expansion type. I don't know when the expansion band was invented, but that might give a date limit if known. 3. The side view photo shows the "band" area to be odd for a ring. I think the pointed end would stab or pinch the wearer and the end with the loop sticking out just doesn't look like a ring band to me. One person in the link above suggests it might be an earring. 4. Another person said it could be a Cracker Jack prize, and it does look like that, except the band doesn't look right for a ring, and I don't think they would give away earrings. 5. The face of it did look familiar, when I first saw it on this forum. It looks like a pot metal toy of some kind. 6. Why did the news release state that the hands were "stopped" at a certain time, if the hands are cast into it? Why didn't they mention what material it was made out of? This doesn't sound like a scientific news release to me. eethr
Whyte Eagle		#9	[-]
Posts: 13030 (05/03/09 7:37 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I think you are right ... it looks like a cast piece to me as well ... at least in the image that is shown ...