Mystery unfold: It's a Pagoda of King Asoka! The pagoda was wrapped in silk. Chinese archaeologists unveiled it Thursday without tearing apart the silk, which is not as fragile as it was thought to be. [China.org.cn]

Chinese archaeologists on Wednesday opened a 1,000-year-old steel case that was believed to contain Buddhist relics.

A pagoda top wrapped in silk emerged after archaeologists removed two steel panels of the cube-shaped case, which is 0.5 meter long, 0.5 meter wide and 1.34 meters high.

Later, archaeologists removed the silk and found out it is actually a huge national treasure: a mini Pagoda of King Asoka.

Hua Guorong, vice curator of the Nanjing City Museum where the case was opened, said an initial analysis showed the object was a pagoda about 1 meter high.

He said Buddhist relics, which were formed from the ashes of cremated Buddhist masters and were an important aspect of the religion, were likely to be under the pagoda.

A pagoda top wrapped in silk emerges. [CRI]

The box was found in an underground shrine of the Dabaoen Temple here.