Archeologists discover sacrificed horses in tomb
Print Edition
ARCHAEOLOGISTS discovered five well-preserved horse-drawn vehicles, each with four sacrificed horses, in the corridor of the main tomb of “Haihunhou” (Marquis of Haihun).
The burial site is located in Nanchang, capital of east China’s Jiangxi Province, and dates back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 25 AD). It covers about 40,000 square meters and comprises eight tombs and a dedicated area for chariots, the walls of which stretch for almost 900 meters.
Archeologists suspect the main tomb is that of Liu He, the grandson of Emperor Wu, the greatest ruler of the Han Dynasty, one of the most prosperous periods in China’s history.
Liu was given the title “Haihunhou” after he was deposed as emperor after only 27 days, dethroned by the royal clan because of his lack of talent and morals. Haihun is the ancient name of a very small kingdom in the north of Jiangxi.
According to archaeologist Xin Lixiang, chariots pulled by four horses as found in the tomb were only ever used by the most senior members of the Han Dynasty.
The team also discovered more than 3,000 accessories embellished with gold and silver, he said.
“Some of the accessories are not from the Central Plain” said Hu Dongbo, a professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology of Peking University.
“It is possible that they came from western regions,” he said.
The team also found more than 10 tons of Wuzhu bronze coins, and more than 10,000 gold, bronze and iron items, unearthed along with jade articles, wood tablets and bamboo slips.
The excavation began in 2011, and the next stage of the archeological work will be to look for items locked in the coffin of the central mausoleum.
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