Chinese archaeologists have found more than 5,000 graves and over 260 pits near the tomb of Jing, the fourth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 24 A.D.) and his empress in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
These graves and pits, covering 3.5 square kms in area, were found in good order and are divided into different groups according to the identity of the buried people.
The graves and pits were constructed in the period between the early Western Han and the middle Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), said Jiao Nanfeng, who led a group of archaeologists to unearth the tomb of Emperor Jing.
More than 5,000 relics have been excavated from over 300 tombs. The relics include various porcelain documents and wares, bronze wares, jade wares, lacquer wares and copper coins.
Relics unearthed from the pits include a large number of colored porcelain tomb figures, such as various animals, copper and iron weapons, tools, wooden carts, adornments, currency and grain.
Han Wei, director of the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Institute, noted that excavation of the tomb of Emperor Jing is of great significance in studying the burial culture in ancient China and especially in the Qin (221 B.C.- 207 B.C.) and Han dynasties.
(Eastday)
