An ancient tomb made of bricks estimated to be more than 1,000 years old was discovered in Shanxi province, northern China. Photo/Shanxi Institute of Archeology
The tomb contained three bodies, two adults and one child, as well as some pottery items. One of these, the “land coupon” inscribed with the tomb was built between AD 1190 and 1196, when the region was ruled by the Jurchen Jin or “Great Jin” states.
The Great Jin or Jurchen Jin appeared around AD 1115 amidst a rebellion against the Liao dynasty before the region fell to the invading Mongols in 1234. Although many of its subjects were ethnic Han Chinese, the Jurchen Jin were ruled by an imperial family that was ethnically Jurchen descendant. .
The Juerchen descendants are a semi-nomadic people from northeastern China related to the Manchu people. The Manchus are an ethnic group native to the northeastern region of China and beyond who conquered China and Mongolia in the 17th century and ruled for around 250 years.
“What makes the Jurchen Jin so interesting is that it is a multiethnic empire,” Julia Schneider, professor of Chinese history at University College Cork in Ireland told Live Science quoted SINDOnews, Saturday (1/4/2023).
According to the Shanxi Archaeological Institute, the tomb was found by workers near the village of Dongfengshan, in Yuanqu County, about 650 kilometers southwest of Beijing. Then the archaeologists from the institute then carried out excavations to document the tomb.
A full report on the work was released in February 2023 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). an elaborate octagonal spire made of stepped bricks.
The entire room is faced with bricks shaped to look like carved wood. The tomb also features ornate decorations on the walls, including lions, sea anemones, flowers, and two figures thought to represent guardian spirits.
Archaeologists from the Shanxi Institute said the three bodies found there were of two adults between the ages of 50 and 60, and a child between the ages of 6 and 8. A census in 1207 put the population of the Jurchen Jin state at 53 million people.
(wib)
