More than 400 precious cultural relics unearthed from Eastern Zhou cemeteries in Hubei

on October 30, the newly excavated Hotel cemetery of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province. Recently, Xiangyang cultural relics and Archaeology Research Center organized professionals to explore underground cultural relics on a 185 Mu construction land located in the high tech Zone, and 136 tombs were found. At present, more than 100 tombs have been cleared, most of which are earth pits and vertical tombs, and a few are provided with sloping tombs or niches; The burial utensils are single coffins or single coffins. These tombs were arranged orderly and grouped obviously. It is speculated that they were a large cemetery buried by family at that time.

According to the shape, combination and characteristics of the tombs, archaeologists judged that the tombs in the cemetery were mainly tombs of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. It was a cemetery for the middle and lower nobility and civilians of the state of Chu in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Because the cemetery is located in the southwest of the hotel natural village, it is named the hotel cemetery.

According to archaeologists, most of the tombs found this time are the tombs of the nobility of the state of Chu in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. More than 400 precious cultural relics such as chariot pits, bronzes, jade, lacquer wood paint, silk and linen fabrics and leather were unearthed. Surprisingly, among them are the musical instruments' se 'and' tiger bird frame drum 'used by the nobility of the state of Chu. Its base is two tigers, and the drum is mounted on the bird. At present, three tiger bird drums have been unearthed.

Deng City is 2.7 kilometers southeast of the cemetery. According to Zhou Ting, head of the archaeological project, the discovery of this tomb group is of great significance to the study of Chu culture in Deng City and provides a batch of new materials for the study of Chu culture. According to historical records, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty lasted 515 years from 770 BC to 256 BC. In 678 BC, after the ancient Deng state was destroyed by the state of Chu, it was changed into Deng City. Considering the important military geographical location here, Duke Chu was granted Deng City, and then a large number of nobles of the state of Chu also moved to Deng City to settle down.