Wuwangdun largest scale, highest rank Chu state tomb uncovered to date

 

무왕돈묘[武王墩墓 Wuwangdun tomb], 전국시대 초나라 대왕묘

 

 

Wuwangdun largest scale, highest rank Chu state tomb uncovered to date

The National Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Tuesday the Wuwangdun tomb in Huainan, Anhui province as the largest in scale, highest in rank and most structurally complex Chu state tomb ever excavated through scientific measures to date. 

 

As a Chu state tomb dating back to the late of Warring States Period (475-221 BC), the site has an independent cemetery surrounded by a moat, covering an area of about 1.5 square kilometers. Inside the cemetery there are chariot and sacrifice pits and tombs accompanying the largest No 1 tomb, believed to be owner of the cemetery. 

Archaeologists focused on excavating the No 1 tomb, which has been confirmed to be a square tomb with a tomb passage. In the center of the tomb pit, there are nine burial chambers arranged in a cross shape with one central chamber and eight side chambers surrounding it. 

 

Bronze ritual artifacts, daily utensils, wooden figurines and musical instruments were unearthed from the side chambers. Ink inscriptions were also found on the cover boards of the burial chambers, according to Gong Xicheng, a researcher at the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. 

In 241 BC, King Kaolie of Chu moved the Chu state capital east to Shouchun, now Shouxian county in Huainan, to keep away from the threat of the Qin state to its west. The Wuwangdun tomb is about 15 kilometers from Shouchun city ruins. 

 

"This tomb provides systematic archaeological information for studying the high-ranking tomb system of Chu state in the late Warring States Period and the historical and cultural aspects of the Chu state after its eastern migration," says Gong.

From https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202404/16/WS661e1a56a31082fc043c23d4_1.html