Jiangjin (Chine): Intricate millennium-old tomb discovered
Qin Xie
Builders digging at a Chinese secondary school had the rare fortune to stumble upon an ancient tomb.
Archaeologists have since excavated the tomb in Jiangjin, a district in Chongqing, south west China, to reveal an enormous, double-chambered burial site.
The large scale tomb, believed to be built during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279AD), is extreme intricate in design and layout, reported People's Daily Online.
Chongqing Municipal Academy of Cultural Heritage has been excavating the site since July 16 and the field work was completed August 2.
According to Niu Yingbin, the archaeologist in charge of the excavation, a tomb of this size and complexity is extremely rare, especially in Chongqing.
He has revealed that the excavation site is composed of a large mound that sealed the entrance and the main tomb.
There's evidence of a stone pillar formation around the oval shaped mound. Remnants of the pillars measure just over 8 feet high.
The tomb itself is situated in the middle of the mound and is built entirely of stone.
A spacious, rectangular double burial chamber is at the centre of the tomb.
This measures approximately 28 feet long, 25 feet wide and 10 feet high, which is about the size of three single-deck buses parked side by side.
Layout of the tomb includes an entrance corridor, dividing wall, two burial chambers and alcoves.
Niu Yingbin revealed that the burial chambers are joined by a central passage way. Each chamber is adorned with intricate carvings, depicting warriors, gods, children, animals and plants.
Parts of the carving was even coloured with red and black paint, which is still visible.
Using the tomb's structure and associated artefacts as clues, the archaeologists estimate the burial chamber to be built during the Song Dynasty, between 960AD and 1279AD.
Niu said: 'This type of tomb with the double burial chamber isn't unusual for the Song Dynasty.
'But it's quite rare to find a tomb of this scale and complexity in the Chongqing area.'
Although broken ceramics were found in the tomb, nothing was buried. According to Niu, this indicates that the tomb had been robbed before.
However, Niu stressed that this 'does not affect the research value of the tomb'.
In fact, the carvings and stone used will all 'provide valuable information for those studying Song Dynasty's politics, economics and culture'.
