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Lying side by side, these horses have drawn a chariot in an ancient tomb for the past 3,000 years, which was recently discovered. The equine bones, found in the Chinese city of Luoyang, have remained undisturbed since the early Western Zhou dynasty. Archaeologists believe the 12 horses lying on their sides show the animals were slaughtered before burial, not buried alive. As well as the horses and five chariots, bronzes and ceramics have escaped the clutches of history's grave robbers. Archaeologists are convinced that the perfectly preserved tomb belongs to an official or a scholar of standing, given the pottery,...

Cemetery dig yields clues 3000 years ago By Ma Lie (China Daily) Updated: 2004-05-28 08:53 XI'AN: A new discovery has created a great stir in Chinese archaeological circles, raising questions that will require further excavations before any kind of definitive answer might be given. Researchers use white lines to mark the boundaries of the cemetery. [newsphoto] After two months of sleuthing, a group of Chinese archaeologists have found what they believe to be a large group of tombs of China's Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC) in Qishan County, in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. But are these actually tombs of the...

Tomb from 11th century BC found... by accident Wang Shanshan 2004-05-19 06:52 Chinese archaeologists accidentally discovered a cemetery that may include the oldest tomb ever discovered of the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century to 771 BC). This week's find in Qishan County, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province may shed light on the mystifying history of the dynasty. The four centuries of its rule mark the basis for ancient China's political and cultural systems. The traditional ritual and music systems that originated then prevailed until the 19th century, said Li Xueqin, a historian with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. To date,...