Chinese archaeologists in Qishan County, Shaanxi Province, knew there might be something significant in the area. But as they searched, they had no way of knowing that the find might be the oldest Western Zhou dynasty (11th c. to 771 BC) tomb ever discovered.

Last December, researchers found some ancient oracle bones and other relics in the general area and began conducting a careful search. What they found in early May has turned out to be a large burial ground containing about 10 tombs that appear to have belonged to Zhou dynasty royalty.

Preliminary site surveys indicate that the largest tomb in the cemetery quite possibly belonged to a Zhou dynasty king.

The four centuries of Zhou rule formed the basis for ancient China's political and cultural systems.

The ritual and music systems that originated then prevailed until the 19th century, said Li Xueqin, a historian with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

To date, historians have mainly depended on documents rather than relics to study the period, as the only other large tombs that have been found had been raided and were empty.

The newly discovered burial ground covers an area of more than 46.5 hectares (115 acres). It includes about 10 tombs built into the slopes of the Fenghuang Mountains, near the city of Baoji.

The tombs are aligned in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest one at the top. The number of tombs increases on the lower levels.

Archaeologists from the Peking University, Shaanxi Province and Baoji archaeological institutes are surveying the site.

They believe that the tomb at the top has four tunnels leading to the underground burial room, said Zhu Fenghan, historian and director of the National Museum of China. "A tomb with four paths belonged to someone of extremely high rank. The tomb of a Shang dynasty (16th - 11th century BC) king that was unearthed in Henan Province also had four tunnels."

Li agrees that the biggest tomb "very possibly belonged to a Zhou dynasty king."

Li is leading a state-level research project on pre-Christian era Chinese history.

Qishan County, where the cemetery was found, was the capital of the Western Zhou dynasty. Fenghuang Mountain was considered by the royal family to be the spot where its rise to power began.

The Xi'an-based Shaanxi Daily reported finds of pieces of oracle bones and tortoise shells in the vicinity in December 2003.

The bones and shells were inscribed with words such as "Wen Wang" (King Wen) or "Zhougong Zhen" ("Lord of Zhou had his fortune told"), the paper said.

Remains of a city wall, more than 700 meters long, were also discovered near the burial grounds.

Archaeologists are waiting for the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to decide whether to go forward with an excavation of the site. "If there has been no damage done to the burial grounds, we might preserve it as it is,'' said Zhu, who is to visit the site next week.

But Li said excavations will inevitably follow, as it may be too difficult to protect relics contained in such a large area from future damage.

(China Daily, China.org.cn May 19, 2004)