Ancient "casket in casket" found in China

Archaeologists have found a 3,000-year-old stone coffin which contains a smaller casket in China's Xinjiang Uygur region, the media reported on Tuesday.

The discovery was made earlier this month by researchers with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Qinghe county, Xinhua news agency reported.

Scattered bones were found in the larger casket, which is about 3 metres long and 1.65 metres wide, Associate researcher Guo Wu, who led the excavation, said.

Inside the small casket, which is around 1.7 metres long and 1.5 metres wide, a complete skeleton of a woman was discovered along with pottery, bone and stone tools.

The large coffin was built between 3,800 and 3,500 years ago and the small one between 2,800 and 2,500 years ago. The researchers speculated the small casket was made by those who wanted to "reuse" the large one.

Guo said they are using a drone to obtain images of the coffins from all angles, adding that the findings are significant for research on the history and culture of early nomads in the region.