Discovery

‘Elixir of immortality’ discovered in ancient Chinese tomb

Archaeologists have announced the discovery of a drink that was said to promise everlasting life. It was found secretly stowed away in a 2,000-year-old bronze pot in an ancient tomb in central China’s Henan province.

Around 3.5 litres of the “elixir of immortality” were found in the tomb in the city of Luoyang during excavations last October. It was initially thought that the liquid was liquor because it smelled like alcohol.

However, it was announced this week that, lab testing has revealed that the mysterious liquid is mainly comprised of potassium nitrate and alunite, which are the main ingredients of an immortality draught recorded in an ancient Taoist text.

According to Xinhua, the magical elixir was found in a tomb belonging to a noble family from the Western Han Dynasty that dates back to between 202 BC to 8 AD. The family clearly placed a very high value on the elixir as they deemed it worthy of sharing their final resting place.