Archaeologists Discover 174 Tombs Dating to China's Warring States Period

Archaeologists have uncovered a large-scale ancient cemetery with dozens of tombs and numerous cultural relics in China.

The Baizhuang Cemetery is located in the city of Xiangyang, in the northwestern Hubei province, the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a statement. The cemetery was discovered by the Xiangyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology last summer during excavations conducted as part of an infrastructure project.

After comprehensive cleaning, archaeologists identified a total of 176 tombs at the site. Apart from two tombs from China's Han dynasty period (206 B.C. to A.D. 220), the remainder are all pit tombs from the Warring States period.

This period, which lasted from the 5th century B.C. until 221 B.C., was marked by warfare between various feuding Chinese kingdoms battling for dominance. This era was one of the most influential in the country's history, ending with the establishment of the first unified Chinese state.

"Discoveries of Warring States [period] sites provide incredible insight into a period that is both seminal but poorly understood," Justin Winslett, a lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the recent excavations, told Newsweek.

"The Warring States [era] represents part of a 'classical period' within Chinese and larger East Asian history from whence many of the cornerstones, such as philosophy, myth and text, that are today thought of as part of East Asian 'civilization' are meant to have emerged."

Until recent decades, little information about how people lived, what life was actually like and even what technology people had during this period was available, according to Winslett. But in the past 50 years, the discovery of archaeological sites from this and earlier eras, such as tombs, workshops and even small villages, has helped to cast more light on the realities of life in the Warring States period.

"These discoveries, which have accelerated in the past 20 years owing to the increased rate of building works uncovering sites during excavations, have reshaped our understanding of not only the Warring States, but also many of the texts and stories that have been a part of Chinese history for centuries," he said.

"Recent discoveries continue to provide even more insights as more diverse items, some clearly sourced from as far as Europe and northern Africa, are unearthed, and new structures and artistic motifs are discovered suggesting more diverse cultures and societies than previously known."

Among the tombs from the Warring States period are nine medium-sized examples with sloped passages. The largest of these have a total length (including the tomb passages) of more than 30 feet and a width of more than 16 feet.

The remaining tombs found in the cemetery tend to be smaller and do not feature passages like the larger examples.

During the excavations, the archaeologists also unearthed more than 500 cultural relics. These included hundreds of pieces of pottery, dozens of bronze artifacts—primarily weapons such as swords and spears—and some wooden utensils like combs, as well as other objects like jade rings.

In one of the larger tombs—known as "M3"—the archaeologists identified several artifacts including bronze ritual vessels, swords and spoons.

Intriguingly, just to the northwest of M3, the researchers found a "chariot and horse" burial pit. In this pit, a cart and two horses were buried, although the former is made of wood and has completely decayed.

The chariot shaft faces north, while the two horses are lying on either side of it with their backs facing each other.

The skull, ribs, shoulder blades and some leg bones of the horse on the east side remain.

From the horse on the west side, the skull, a few ribs and some hind limb bone fragments are preserved.

Based on the size of the M3 tomb, the combination of artifacts found inside of it and the nearby "horse" burial, the researchers speculated that it likely belonged to a high-ranking nobleman.

Update 3/22/24, 1:49 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional comments from Justin Winslett.

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