Posted on 05/22/2005 11:08:59 AM PDT by blam
Excavation of ancient desert tombs ends, riddles waiting to answer
www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-20 15:33:59
URUMQI, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese archaeologists finished the excavation of an ancient tomb complex in the Lop Nur Desert, northwest China, but researchers say the finds are puzzling and need more time to be understood.
By mid March, archaeologists in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region unearthed 163 tombs of the Xiaohe Tomb complex, which sprawls on a 2,500-square-meter oval-shaped dune, 174 km from the ruins of the Loulan Kingdom, an ancient civilization that vanished 1,500 years ago.
The complex contains about 330 tombs, but about 160 of them were spoiled by grave robbers, said Idelisi Abuduresule, head of the Xinjiang Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, which launched the excavation project in October 2003 with the approval from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
Archaeologists found boat-shaped coffins in the tombs, including one 55-cm long for an infant's body.
Four of the unearthed coffins, located at the bottom of the tomb complex, were coated with mud. The bodies in the four coffins were all women, but researchers found wooden male genitals in the coffins along with other funerary objects.
"Most objects found in the tombs remain untouched, and will help the study on local social culture and custom at that time," Idelisi said.
The massive burial site was first discovered in 1934 by Swedish explorer, Folke Bergman. His archaeological diary helped Chinese researchers spot the site at the end of 2000, after the diary was published in Chinese.
After excavation, the researchers returned to regional capital,Urumqi, for further study.
The researchers are now attempting to determine the date of thetombs through tree-ring analysis on wooden coffin boards and chronometry on the earth from the tombs.
Many riddles await the researchers, Idelisi said.
"Why were the tombs terraced? Why the wooden posts were cut into a variety of shapes from columns to prisms and what did people use for the carving? Why didn't we find any traces of humanlife near such a massive burial site?" he asked.
Idelisi said that the burial style is unique and unveiling its mystery should involve research efforts of not only archaeologists and historians but also anthropologists, religion experts and environment researchers.
"We'll try to complete and publish the research report. And we hope our research can help archaeological and historical studies on the region," Idelisi said. End item
This becomes a huge puzzle...which the Chinese hate. If caucasians were around...where did they come from? And the fact that this is such an unusual tomb...leads one to wonder what caucasian society buries their dead in such a fashion.
An excellent book on this subject by Elizabeth Barber:
"From Publishers Weekly
In 1994, a most astonishing discovery was made in Western China. Incredibly well-preserved mummies dating back 2000 years were unearthed in this remote region mummies with large, colorful wardrobes, mummies that were distinctively Caucasian. The mystery of what six-foot-tall, fair-haired people were doing in China at the time took Barber, an expert on ancient textiles at Occidental College in L.A., to the desert city of Urumchi in 1995, where archeologists at the site hoped that her expertise might help them understand what these unlikely people were doing there.
She had excellent material to work with: the mummies were in such remarkable condition that they still had full heads of hair and beards, and their skin was only slightly weathered. Most had been buried with plenty of brightly colored clothes to wear (one man was buried with 10 hats, each a different style), which gave Barber a treasure-trove of textiles with which to work.
Barber structures her tale as a mystery, revealing information piecemeal until she presents her conclusions about the origin of the mummies. In the process, she treats readers to a lively story about the ebb and flow of ancient cultures, a story largely deduced from the development of weaving, dyeing, embroidery and fashion.
Barber's hypothesis about how Caucasian mummies wound up in Urumchi, which has something to do with the Silk Road, is so clear and logical that readers will be satisfied that all relevant possibilities have been thoroughly examined.
The only thing lacking is information on how to pronounce Urumchi. 16 pages of color photos; 50 b&w drawings.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
They are closely related to the ancient Celts.
What will future Archaeologists think when they dig up that guy who was buried in his Cadillac?
.....slaves.......experiements........Russians......
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