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<< News >> Ancient tomb with 47 wooden coffins discovered in Jiangxi, China

Submitted by coldrum on Thursday, 16 August 2007  Page Views: 4207

Neolithic and Bronze AgeCountry: China Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen

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Far from the clamour of tourists on bicycles, in another part of China, archaeologists are deeply engaged. A burial pit bearing the remains of people who lived more than two-thousand-five-hundred years ago, has been discovered in Jing'an County, in Eastern China's Jiangxi Province. The site is the largest of its kind ever found in China.

The burial site containing 47 coffins in three ranks is cause for considerable excitement among archaeologists.

Here lie the previously undisturbed remains of ancient people who lived more than two millennia past. Scientists expect the site will yield valuable insight and some surprises.

Thirty-seven coffins have been opened thus far. Jade wares, gold accessories, and finely-crafted silk clothing have been discovered.

The burials of long ago were carried out with great care. Layer upon layer of baked and tamped earth sealed the enclosure from daylight. The dead were meant to rest in peace through all Eternity. There is a story here: an enigma whose secrets slowly are becoming revealed.

More, with video footage at CCTV.

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Ancient Mass Sacrifice, Riches Discovered in China Tomb by coldrum on Tuesday, 20 May 2008
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Ancient Mass Sacrifice, Riches Discovered in China Tomb

A 2,500-year-old tomb containing nearly four dozen victims of human sacrifice has been excavated in eastern China, yielding a treasure trove of precious artifacts and new insights into ritual customs during the era of Confucius, archaeologists say.

The tomb was discovered in January 2007 after police caught looters plundering the site in the province of Jiangxi , said Xu Changqing, who heads the excavation team.

The burial chamber was constructed for the patriarch of an aristocratic family and contains 47 dead buried side by side, Xu said.

Among the most impressive artifacts found in the tomb is a black, gold, and blood-red sword inscribed with pictures of dragons. Xu described it as "the most beautiful and best-preserved sword ever found in this part of China."

Also discovered among the dead were gold and bronze artifacts, along with elaborate silk gowns.

But the most startling discovery was that "most of those buried had been sacrificed to accompany their master into the afterlife," said Xu, a scholar at the Archaeology Institute of Jiangxi.

Some aristocrats arranged for the sacrifice of their servants, their concubines, or others closest to them upon their death so they could travel together into the next life, he said.

"At that time, some ruling elite believed that they could lead afterlives similar to their lives here on Earth," he explained.

The Jiangxi tomb is "one of the most important archaeological finds from this era in this part of China," he added.

Mass Human Sacrifice

The practice of human sacrifice is recorded in China's earliest writings, dating back as far as the Shang dynasty 4,000 years ago, experts say.

Warrior-kings at the time relied on diviners to communicate with ancestors and presented animal or human offerings to plead for victories in battle or for rains to end drought.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080129-china-tomb.html
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