In a relatively normal-looking field in eastern China’s Anhui province, lies a large mound. When covered with grass and trees, the mound looks completely natural.
But when archaeologists started digging, they quickly realized that this was not a normal hill. It was a massive tomb, 2,200 years old and filled with treasures.
Archaeologists have spent the past four years excavating the mound outside Huainan, the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in an April 17 press release.
The gigantic funerary complex – nicknamed Wuwangdun – spans just over 16 million square feet, about the size of 280 football fields, or three times the size of Vatican City. Surrounded by a moat, the complex has three main sections: an outer cemetery, a central tomb and a coffin chamber.
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The Wuwangdun complex was built by the ancient state of Chu and dates from the Warring States period, a tumultuous era in Chinese history that began in 475 BC and ended in 221 BC, said the Huainan municipal government in a press release on April 17.
The outer cemetery has a large rectangular pit filled with horses and chariots, sacrificial pits and other structures, archaeologists said.
In the middle of these structures is the centerpiece of the complex: the 2,200-year-old tomb, shaped almost like an inverted pyramid. Its four walls descend into the ground in 21 large steps. A sloping entrance extends outward on one side.
After the tomb was constructed, archaeologists said earth was packed onto it to create a mound-like shape. Excavations have uncovered shovels, tools, spears, arrowheads and bamboo baskets.
At the bottom of the 2,200-year-old tomb is the coffin chamber. This wooden structure has nine pieces and is shaped like a plus sign. A photo shows the coffin after excavations removed the bamboo mats that covered the top.
Archaeologists found nearly a thousand words written on the wooden walls of the coffin, the institute said. The text described the location of the coffin pieces and the function of the different pieces.
So far, more than a thousand artifacts have been discovered in the Wuwangdun burial complex, archaeologists said. These include musical instruments, lacquered wooden objects, bronze vessels and utensils, among others. The photos show some of these treasures.
The 2,200-year-old burial complex is the “largest, tallest and most complex” tomb of its type ever discovered, the Shanghai Eye, a Chinese state-backed news outlet, reported.
But a central mystery persists: who was buried here? The main theory is that the tomb belongs to an ancient king of the Chu State, King Kaolie, but more research is needed, the Shanghai Eye reported.
Excavation of Wuwangdun Tomb in Huainan is still ongoing. Huainan is a city in eastern China’s Anhui province, about 600 miles south of Beijing.
Google Translate was used to translate the press release from the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
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