Top Find of 2005: Tombs of
Dukes
Bronze ritual vessel -- Tripod
Bronze ritual vessels -- Ding & Gui
"The excavation of the large-scale tombs of the Western
and Eastern Zhou dynasties (11th century-256 BC) is the most marvelous archaeological
discovery of 2005!" These words have been on the lips of expert archeologists
in China recently.
On December16th, a great number of buried articles were excavated in
Liangdai Village of Hancheng City in North China's Shanxi Province, and
has been regarded as further achievement on the study of this valuable Zhou
Dynasty Mausoleum since the April of 2005. Among the excavations, treasured
objects like bronze vessels, and jade, agate, and seashell handicrafts have
been found. Experts assert that more wonders are expected to emerge with
further excavation.
Discovery
This considerable ancient mausoleum is located in Liangdai Village, 7
kilometers northeast of Hancheng City, the
hometown of Sima Qian -- a celebrated historian and man of letters in
the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC- 24 AD).
Since this April, the Institute of Shanxi Archeology, with the help of
the Weinan Institute of Cultural Relics and the Hancheng Bureau of Cultural
Tourism, has been massively researching and carefully excavating the sizable
tomb complex.
Research shows that the burial site covers an area of 330,000 square
kilometers, and includes 103 tombs and 17 pits that contain chariots and
horses and which have yet to be unearthed. Inside the complex, the 4 largest
tombs -- one in the shape of "中" and three in the shape of "甲" -- have attracted
special attention. It has been concluded that the funeral objects are over
2800 years old, dating back to the late Western Zhou Dynasty.
Seven distinguished features
According to the three well-preserved tombs that have so far been excavated
in the last 30 years, experts believe that the mausoleum was the first of
its kind to have been immune from grave robbers. Besides, it is inferred
from the exquisite unearthed burials that the tombs are the cemeteries of
dukes who lived from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Eastern Zhou
Dynasty (770-256BC).
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