A potentially important discovery was made recently when construction workers toiling on a road project in Baoshan District uncovered the tomb of a low-ranking official who was buried 564 years ago, relics experts said.

"While this is not the oldest tomb that has ever been found in the district, I bet the body is one of the best preserved," said Wang Aihong, deputy director of the district relics preservation office. "His hair and moustache are easily recognizable. Bodies previously found had only their skeletons."

After the tomb was discovered in Yanghang area on Friday, the body was sent to the Shanghai Museum, where researchers from the city Relics Management Commission began examining the corpse.

According to inscriptions on two tombstones, the dead official was 65 years old. He was born in 1372 and died in 1437, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The inscriptions did not identify the man's rank, but his clothes did, Wang said.

His elegant silk clothes and a particular type of black hat suggest he was a governor of a small district, whose position would be equivalent today to a neighborhood supervisor, said relics officials.

As was the practice during the Ming Dynasty, the tombstones only gave the man's surname, Han. But the area where the tomb was found was once a village for the Su clan.

Wang pointed to two other mysteries:

--There are no local records of a man surnamed Han being buried in the area now known as Baoshan.

--His coffin contained more than 10 books. During the Ming Dynasty, the dead were usually buried with one or two books.

Wang said Baoshan was esta-blished in 1724.

Chen Yong, a relics expert, added, "Compared to the city's western Qingpu and Songjiang districts, Baoshan has yielded fewer relics. The discovery of such a well-preserved tomb surprised us."

(www.eastday.com.cn 05/09/2001)