Archaeologists in China have unearthed the tomb of a Han Dynasty king, which is filled with treasures and cultural relics.
The archaeologists say that the tomb or the mausoleum was found in the modern day Xuyi County in Jiangsu. They revealed that the tomb is around 2,100 years old and belongs to a Chinese king called Liu Fei, who died in 128 B.C. and ruled the kingdom called Jiangdu.
The tomb has been raided by robbers previously but it still has around 10,000 precious artifacts made of jade, bronze, gold, silver and lacquer. Excavations found a number of chambers and corridors in the tomb. The tomb included various things, which his predecessors believed he would need in his afterlife.
One of the chambers was full of weapons such as knives, crossbows, swords several life-size chariots, as well as smaller chariots. Archaeologists also discovered a chamber, which had music instruments like chime bells.
Another chamber had utility items like lamps, pottery, pitchers, vessels and more. While another chamber included 100,000 rare banliang coins. These coins have a square hole found in the middle and were made by China's first emperor.
Unfortunately, the king's coffin was found severely damaged and the body is also missing.
"Near the coffins many jade pieces and fragments, originally parts of the jade burial suit, were discovered. These pieces also indicate that the inner coffin, originally lacquered and inlaid with jade plaques, was exquisitely manufactured," writes the archaeological team.
The archaeologists also discovered a second tomb near the king's tomb, which they have named "M2." Even though the excavation does not reveal who the tomb belongs to, archaeologists believe that it may belong to someone who had a high status in the Jiangdu kingdom.
The M2 is also said to have been plundered but many old and precious artifacts were still excavated from the site. Archaeologists say that a "jade coffin" found in the M2 is the most significant find of the tomb's excavation.
"Although the central chamber was looted, the structure of the jade coffin is still intact, which is the only undamaged jade coffin discovered in the history of Chinese archaeology," writes the team.
The excavations also found 11 attendant tombs north to king Liu Fei's tomb. Human sacrifice was not prevalent at the time when the king died, so archaeologists opine that the individuals buried in these tombs were not sacrificed when king Liu Fei died.
The attendant tombs were also filled with riches. One of the artifacts included the inscription of "Nao." Historical records suggest that the object may have belonged to the king's consort "Lady Nao."
