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2008 Excavation of the Xiongjiazhong Graveyard in Jingzhou,Hubei (4)

Jingzhou Municipal MuseumJingzhou Municipal Museum

【Abstract】 Xiongjiazhong Graveyard is situated on a low hill to the west of Zhangchang Village and Zongbei Village in Chuandian Town, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province. The graveyard, which is 550 meters north to south and 200 meters east to west, is composed of main tombs, secondary tombs, the graves of sacrificial victims, offering pits, and chariot-and-horse pits. From March to December of 2008, Jingzhou Municipal Museum excavated 6 horse pits,3 small chariot-and-horse pits, and the majority of a large chariot-and-horse pit. In the large chariot-and-horse pit, chariots of various sorts were orderly disposed in two rows. Judging by the unearthed bronzes and the date of the whole graveyard, the chariot-and-horse pits were probably built in the middle Warring States. The largest chariot-and-horse pit of Xiongjiazhong Graveyard is also the largest one ever found in China. So its excavation is of great value for the study of the chariot system of the Warring States.

 

 

Excavation of the Sixteen Kingdoms Tombs in Jinjiliang,Yumen,Gansu (26)

Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

【Abstract】 From February to April of 2009,Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated tombs in Jinjiliang in Qingquan Village of Yumen City, and its vicinity, which was the area of a planned gas conduit. The tombs were scattered in groups of three, four, and five on the open gobi desert, in a north-south line. There were no grave enclosures found on the surface. 24 tombs were unearthed, including brick-chamber tombs, gravel-cave tombs, brick-and-stone tombs, and other types. In some wood coffins, portraits of Fu Xi and NV Wa (the creator god and goddess) were found on the inner surface of the cover boards. The burial objects were mainly pottery. A few bronzes, iron objects, bamboo and wood wares, silk, and engraved bricks were also found. Date inscriptions such as "Jian Xing" and "Sheng Ping", which were reign titles, were found on the coffins, unearthed wooden seals, and some bricks. They suggested the tombs were built in the middle and late period of the Former Liang State of the Sixteen Kingdoms.

 

 

A Mural-Painted Tomb of the Second Year of the Zhida Reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1309 C.E.) in Hongyu Village,Shanxi (40)

Research Center of Science, Technology, and Philosophy of Shanxi University Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Shanxi Provincial Museum

【Abstract】 In May of 2008,archaeologists excavated a mural-painted tomb in Hongyu Village, Kangning Town,Xing County, Shanxi Province. The east-west oriented tomb had its entry to the east. It was a husband-and-wife tomb, composed of a tomb tunnel, a stone wall, a tomb passage, a gate, and an octagonal chamber. Mural paintings were found on the roof and walls of the tomb chamber, including flowers, horses, portraits of the tomb owners, a scene of preparing tea, and stories of filial piety. On the west wall, a tablet with the names of the tomb occupants, Wu Qing and Jing Shi, was painted between their portraits. On the screen painted behind the couple, there was the famous poem "Tian Jing Sha: Qiu Si" (Thoughts in Autumn),which is attributed to Ma Zhiyuan. On the south-west wall, a date inscription of the second year of the Zhida reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1309 C.E.) was found.