New Excavations of Northern Wei Tombs

An interesting piece of news about the recent excavations of tombs dating to 525–532 CE (Northern Wei) at Zhucang village in the vicinity of Luoyang. A small cemetery consisting of three tombs is located in the area of the mausoleum of an Eastern Han emperor. All three tombs face south and are generally arranged in a “pin” shape.

The tombs contained preserved pottery, some other grave goods, and stone funerary beds with relief carvings.

The bed in Tomb M260 contains 12 reliefs on its inner side. One of them apparently depicts the tomb’s occupant, while the others seem to represent historical narratives and scenes. The outer side of the bed bears 11 images of monstrous beasts. The bed from Tomb M262 also features scenes from historical narratives. Tomb M261 did not contain a stone bed, but a sarcophagus lid was found depicting gods, humans, and animals.

Hopefully, better-quality photographs showing the details of the images will become available in due course.

 каменная плита на западной стороне M262