Ancient tombs of royal standard discovered in Shaanxi
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-05-27 16:18

A large-scale tomb group of the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century B.C.- 771 B.C.) was discovered at the Zhougong Temple site in Qishan County in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Chinese archaeologists said Tuesday.

The tombs are of the highest standard of the Western Zhou Dynasty ever discovered in China, they said.

"Judging from the scale of the tombs, the owner might be somebody of high rank, a duke, a prince, or even a king of the Western Zhou Dynasty," said Lei Xingshan, associate professor withthe School of Archaeology and Museology at Beijing University, whoparticipated in the archaeological excavation at the Zhougong Temple site.

"However, no evidence shows that it is the tomb of the king of the Western Zhou Dynasty," Lei said.

Located at the southern side of Qishan Mountain, the tomb groupcovers an area of some 80,000 square meters.

By Tuesday, 12 tombs had been unearthed at the site. Among them,seven tombs have four tomb passages, one has three tomb passages, one has two tomb passages and one has just one tomb passage.

The major passage of a tomb is as long as 30 meters with a coffin chamber covering an area of some 80 square meters.

"It is much larger than all the other tombs of the Western ZhouDynasty ever discovered in China, and even the tomb of an ordinaryroyal cannot compare with it," said Lei.

"So, the owner of the tombs may be a high-ranking official of the royalty including Zhougong, the icon the Zhougong Temple commemorates," said Lei.

Moreover, seven chariot pits were also excavated at the site.

Located at about seven kilometers from Qishan County, the Zhougong Temple was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to commemorate Zhougong, the regent of the newly established Western Zhou Dynasty.

The excavation at the Zhougong Temple site, cooperatively made by the Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute and Beijing University, started in February. Since then a large-scale investigation and excavation was made in the region around the Zhougong Temple.

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