CHINESE archaeologists announced that the grand tomb of Liu Heng, a Han Dynasty emperor, has been identified.
Located in Jiangcun, a village in the outskirts of Xian city in northwestern Shaanxi province, the large-scale mausoleum was discovered in 2006.
However, excavation works only started in 2017 after experts obtained more information on the structure.
After years of study, archaeologists confirmed it to be the resting place of Liu Heng, commonly known as Han Wen Di (Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty), who reigned from 180BC to 157BC.
Emperor Wen was the fourth son of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the dynasty. He was also the grandfather of Emperor Wu (Liu Che), who explored the Silk Road.
The royal mausoleum in Jiangcun has no grave mound, which explained why it had not been found.
It has four ramps leading to the entrance of the burial chamber, placed 2m to 4.5m underground, reported Xinhua China’s national news agency.
The chamber, with its base lies 27m to 30m below, is 74.5m long by 71.5m wide.
Experts had suspected it might belong to Emperor Wen’s wife or daughter but changed their minds due to the structure and formation of the tomb.
After years of research, the National Cultural Heritage Administration announced that the tomb belonged to none other than the emperor himself, at a press conference in Beijing last week.
Ma Yongying, a researcher with Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, said the mausoleum is similar to those of the other two Han Dynasty emperors in terms of structure and scale.
“The scale, formation and structure of the grave all conform to the highest level of tombs built in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD).
The graves of Emperor Wen’s wife and his mother were also found around him.
Thousands of pottery figurines and artefact made from iron and bronze as well as official seals have since been unearthed. Little valuables were discovered compared to other royal tombs and this matched mausoleum historical records of Emperor Wen’s thrifty personality.
The emperor was also known for his benevolence and diligence.
Under his rule, the dynasty’s economy prospered, and its population grew.
For centuries, historians and archaeologists were misled by ancient documents to believe Emperor Wen’s tomb was located at a place called Fenghuangzui, some 2km north of its actual site.
Archaeological work carried out in the area didn’t find anything.
Following the discovery of the real tomb, experts believed its location was wrongly recorded to fool tomb raiders.
A breakthrough came in 2002 when six grey pottery figurines that had been buried underground for over 2,000 years resurfaced in the public’s eyes – a deed of the tomb raiders.
It caught the Chinese officials’ attention when the artefact was listed under Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art category in a Sotheby auction house’s catalogue.
The Chinese Government stepped in and prevented the relics from being sold just 20 minutes before the bidding started in New York. (The items were returned to China the following year.)
Subsequent investigations led experts to Jiangcun, followed by the discovery of the grand tomb.
The Han Dynasty formed a key chapter in Chinese history.
It was the nation’s first golden era with political influence stretching to East Asia. Today, the Han Chinese make up the biggest ethnic group with a population estimated to be about 1.45 billion worldwide of which 90% are citizens of China.
Meanwhile, two statues, believed to be the oldest bronze Buddha statues, were retrieved from a graveyard in Shaanxi.
Li Ming, the lead archaeologist at the site, said one statue measured10cm and the other 15cm.
The two Buddha statues were recently found in a family tomb, however, the specific age of the relics remains unclear.
A pottery jar found nearby was dated 158AD.
Li believed the owner was a local official or landlord with “considerable economic power”.
According to China Daily based on historical records, Buddhism was first introduced in China in the first century AD.
The oldest Buddhist temple in the country was built in 68AD in Henan province’s Luoyang city.
The newly found Buddha statues feature the typical style of the Gandhara Culture of South Asia.
“This showed that Buddhism came to China from South Asia via the Silk Road,” said Liu Qingzhu, a senior archaeological researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province was known as Changan in ancient times, and was the capital of the Han and Tang (618-907) dynasties, two golden periods of China.
The Han descendants are also known as the Tang people, and this is why China Towns are known as Tang Ren Jie (the streets of the Tang people).
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