China Archaeology News: Weekly Briefs

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China Archaeology News: Weekly Briefs

The unexpected find of an ancient tomb in Beijing made headlines in the nation's major newspapers in the past week.

Other areas also reported the latest archaeological excavations.

-- Casket of Han Tomb to Be Opened in April Archaeologists plan to open a casket in the tomb from the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-24 A.D.) and expect some stunning discoveries.

The excavation group, organized by the Beijing Cultural Heritage Administration, began work on February 24 at the 500- square meters site near Laoshan in the western Shijingshan District of Beijing.

Experts from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage said that relics dating back 2,000 years ago might be found in the tomb. Grave robbers tried many times to loot the tomb, but failed to get any precious item, the experts said.

-- 3,000-year-old Tombs Found in East Coastal Province While working recently on a road from Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province to Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, construction workers found some ancient tombs which were dated by archaeologists as going back some 3,000 years.

The archaeologists ascertained that the burial articles unearthed in the 15 tombs were made in the late Shang Dynasty (C. 1600 - C. 1100 B.C.) and early Western Zhou Dynasty (C. 1100 - 771 B.C.).

-- Ancient Brewery Tools Found in Northwestern China Farmers in northwestern China's Qinghai Province recently stumbled upon a batch of cultural relics, including delicate brewery tools and jars which might be 2,000 years old. Archaeologists also found a series of ancient tombs of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 24 A.D.).

-- Shaanxi Police Recover Stolen Gilded Buddha Local police in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, recovered two gilded Buddhas which were unearthed in the city's suburbs.

The two statues, created during the Northern Dynasties (386-581) were stolen by farmers from an unnamed ancient tomb.

Relics experts said the two statues, one of which is classified as a first-class national relic, are of high artistic quality.

-- Fossilized Dinosaur Unearthed in Chongqing More than 20 dinosaur fossils were found in a nearby county in the southwest municipality of Chongqing.

Experts said that the dinosaurs lived 140 million years ago.

-- Jingzhou Museum Rescues 10,000 Lacquerware Items Jingzhou Museum, custodian of China's largest collection of lacquerware, have employed specialists from around the country to repair decayed lacquerware items.

The museum, in central Hubei Province, has more than 10,000 lacquerware relics dating as far back as 2,200 years ago, and experts say they are in need of special attention in order to preserve them properly.


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	The unexpected find of an ancient tomb in Beijing made headlines in the nation's major newspapers in the past week.




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