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The
Earliest Western Han Mausoleum Unearthed
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????Chinese archaeologists
announced Sunday that they have found the earliest Western Han (BC206--
25AD) Dynasty royal mausoleum ever unearthed in China.
????Located 40 kilometers east of Jinan, capital
of east China's Shandong province, the mausoleum was first discovered
when a local farmer detected a pit that contains funerary objects
while building a highway.
????The following 15 months of continuous work
disclosed 20 such pits respectively to the south, north and east
of the main grave, unparalleled by any graves previously unearthed
in terms of either the number of pits with funerary objects or the
value of items found in them.
????Judging from the earth seal already found,
archaeologists decided that the mausoleum dates back to BC186, about
a century earlier than the Laoshan grave currently unearthed in
Beijing.
????Archaeologists deduced from the plentiful
things in the pits that the owner of this mausoleum could be of
royal standing like a king. Some argued that it could be the elder
son of Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Western Han dynasty.
????Found buried in the pits were over 2,000 pieces
of relics, ranging from a horse cart, food to containers, weapons
and sacrifice like cows buried alive.
????The most amazing discovery was a large pit
of musical instruments which, according to Dr. Cui Dayong, responsible
for the excavation, "could make a grand palace orchestra."
????The pit, measuring 20 meters long, three meters
wide and high, has inside nearly 150 pieces of ancient Chinese musical
instruments, all of which are still in good condition.
????However, the genuine identity of the owner
will not be known until the main grave is unearthed.
????Lu Zhaoying, who specializes in Han dynasty
archaeology, said that this mausoleum provides important clues to
understanding royal graves of the Western Han dynasty.
(Xinhua 10/22/2000)
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