Archaeologists discovered a Cluster of 570 Ancient Tombs in China

Archaeologists have found a cluster of 570 ancient tombs dating back to a period spanning from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in Sanmenxia City, central China’s Henan Province, state news agency Xinhua reported.

All the ancient tombs were situated at the Shanzhoucheng cemetery site, west of the city, which was excavated from September 2021 to September 2022, according to the Sanmenxia city institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

Archaeologists unearthed more than 3,000 burial objects from the tombs, including bronze tripods, pots, and plates. Notably, three sets of bronze chimes from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) were found for the first time since the city’s establishment.

At the same time a team of U.S. archaeologists from the University of Cincinnati (UC) have discovered two royal tombs from the Bronze Age in a find that promises to shed light what life was like in ancient Greece.

The two tombs were discovered in Pylos, Greece last year, but the discovery was only announced on Tuesday after more than 18 months of excavation and documentation.

The tombs contained items of jewelry, including a gold ring engraved with two bulls flanked by sheaves of grain and a pendant engraved with the likeness of an ancient Egyptian goddess which the researchers say could help tell stories of life in Greece from 3,500 years ago.

The team, led by Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker from UC’s Classics Department, came across the new tombs while investigating the grave of an ancient Greek, nicknamed the ‘Griffin Warrior,’ which they had discovered nearby in 2015.

The beehive-shaped tombs had been long-hidden by an estimated 40,000 stones which had collapsed in on the tombs thousands of years ago, filling the interiors with rubble.

It has been 50 years since any substantial tombs of this sort have been found at any Bronze Age palatial site. That makes this extraordinary.

China Network / ABC Flash Point Discovery News 2023.