Posted on 12/11/2006 1:46:08 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists have unearthed more than 70 ancient tombs of noble families in Jintang County of Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. Investigations show the region has over 40 tombs dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), more than 20 tombs to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and over 10 tombs to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. To date, all the tombs have been unearthed with the aim of cultural relics protection. Standing at a construction site covering an area of 800 mu (about 53 ha), the tombs were built in brick form or earthen structures. The majority of tombs built in the Han Dynasty had five or three chambers made of brick. Many had been robbed. The largest tomb, belonging to the Han Dynasty, is about nine meters long and four meters wide, in which a stone coffin was found... The experts said the tombs belonged to noble families of the dynasties during a period of 1,000 years, judging from the size of the tombs, building materials and funeral objects.
(Excerpt) Read more at english.people.com.cn ...
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
