Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 20 new tombs at a massive
2,000-year-old imperial mausoleum in Shaanxi Province.
The newly discovered tombs are among 800 tombs at the Hanyang
Mausoleum, 20 kilometers north of Xi'an and near the world famous
terracotta warriors.
The Hanyang Mausoleum is a place where the fourth emperor Liu Qi
and his empress of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC- AD24) were
entombed. The site is the most complete mausoleum from this dynasty
ever discovered.
To date, more than 260 subsidiary tombs housing minor members of
imperial families, nobles or officials have been unearthed around
the mausoleum, said Ma Yongying, director of the archaeological
research team at the Hanyang Mausoleum.
The 20 newly unearthed tombs belong to the early period of the
Western Han Dynasty. The tombs are 10 to 14 meters deep with 20
to40-meter long brick tunnels leading to the main chamber and 10
to18-meter-wide chamber entrances.
According to Ma, a number of relics, featuring colored
terracotta figurines and a variety of musical instruments have been
recovered from the tombs.
(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2006)
