Archaeological News in Brief

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, May 03, 2002

Archaeological News in Brief

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China's archaeological news in brief: 960-Year-Old Mural Tomb Discovered in Beijing -- A tomb, built in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) with murals painted on its walls, has been unearthed in western Beijing.

Archaeologists say that the tomb consists of four parts: a grave passage, a screen wall, a door to the coffin chamber, and the coffin chamber. It is believed to be one of a married couple, according to the gravestone epitaph.

The six murals discovered inside the tomb vividly depicts scenes of musical performance, feasts, and guest receptions, which expert say are a true picture of the lives of the tomb owners.

Historical records show that Beijing was capital of the Jin Dynasty for more than 60 years.

4,000-Year Ruins Discovered in Qinghai Province

Ruins of a house with a lime surface, believed to belong to the period of Qijia Culture dating back some 4,000 years, have been found by archaeologists in Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province.

The house, which was built partly underground, is 3.5 meters from east to west, three meters from north to south, and 0.9 meters deep. At the central part of the house is a kitchen pit with a diameter of 0.9 meters. Archaeologists also found an ash pit and pottery chips near the house ruins, and predicted that more ruins of Qijia houses were nearby.

First discovered in neighboring Gansu Province, Qijia Culture is mainly featured by lime-surfaced houses, which are partly built underground. Some Qijia houses are square and some are round, usually with a floor space of 10 square meters each.

2,000-Year Tombs Discovered in Southwest China Province

A group of tombs believed to be built in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) have been unearthed in Huize County of Yunnan Province, southwest China.

Local archaeologists said they had excavated an area of one square kilometer near Shuicheng Village, 250 kilometers northeast of the provincial capital, Kunming, since March this year. They

found densely scattered large earthen pit tombs and a great deal of funerary objects, including coins, colorful pottery, iron swords, copper utensils, and a complete set of kitchenware.

The copper utensils had often been found by people in farmland since the 1950s, according to local officials.

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