Largest Qin State cemetery discovered in Shaanxi  

陕西澄城发现最大秦国墓地 墓葬总数逾4000座

考古人员在陕西省澄城县境内发现目前中国规模最大的春秋时期秦国国人墓地，已探明墓葬3211座。以墓葬分布范围及其密度计算，该墓地的墓葬总数量应逾4000座。这一消息是记者16日从陕西省考古研究院获得的。[查看全文]

Xi'an (CNS) – A huge cemetery dating back to the Spring and Autumn period (771BC – 476BC) in northwest China's Shaanxi province has been discovered. It is the largest cemetery from the Qin State ever found.

The Ju'an cemetery is located in Ju'an village of Shaanxi's Chengcheng county.

A total of 3,211 tombs have been found, and archaeologists estimate that over 4,000 tombs are scattered in the cemetery, according to the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

Most of the tombs are vertical-pit, each with an area under 10 square meters, said Tian Yaqi, an expert at the institute.

Tian said the cemetery is 1,600 meters long and 1,000 meters wide, with most of the tombs in the northern part.

Bronze ware, pottery and stone artifacts have been found in some of the excavated tombs. Tian said these artifacts embody Qin culture and are estimated to have been made in the late Spring and Autumn period.

A three-legged cooking vessel in the Zhou-period (BC1046 – 256BC) style has been discovered as well, Tian added.

"These findings provide accurate evidence of the cemetery's age and of the Qin's expansion," Tian said.