Tombs Tuolongshan-M3—M7 of the Western Han period are situated on the summit and ridge at the southern end of Tuolong shan Hill about 9 km southeast of Xuzhou City proper and were excavated in November 1998 to Januar...Tombs Tuolongshan-M3—M7 of the Western Han period are situated on the summit and ridge at the southern end of Tuolong shan Hill about 9 km southeast of Xuzhou City proper and were excavated in November 1998 to January 1999.These graves are all furnished with mounds enclosed by walls built of stone blocks in one to three courses.They are shaft-and-cave rock-cut pits except for M6 without cave.The shaft is filled with rammed earth,and the cave is blockaded with a stone or timber structure and contains double coffins(or on the shaft bottom for M6).Tomb M3 lies on the summit.It is the largest in scale and the most elaborate in filling and blockage,the cave keeping building remains and its southern side having a horse-and-chariot niche.Despite robbery,it yielded rather rich funeral objects,numbering 174 pieces/sets,varying widely in type and astonishing in workmanship.The tomb-owner may have been a marquisate or even higher-status member of the Chu prince kin.The other tombs are mostly on the hill-slope and smaller in scale,M4 being closest to M3 in location and containing also remains of tile and wooden buildings,while the rest of burials lying a little farther away from M3 and having no traces of structures inside.They were also robbed and yielded lesser objects.Resembling each other in tomb form and containing grave goods with clear late Western Han features,the five tombs can be assigned roughly to the later mid to earlier late Western Han period,or the Emperor Xuandi to Chengdi reign.Moreover,close to each other in location and date,they seem to belong to the graveyard of the same kin or to be a prime tomb(M3)with a group of accompanying burials.The excavation has great value to researching into the tomb structure,burial institution and material culture of the Han period in the Xuzhou area.展开更多
文摘Tombs Tuolongshan-M3—M7 of the Western Han period are situated on the summit and ridge at the southern end of Tuolong shan Hill about 9 km southeast of Xuzhou City proper and were excavated in November 1998 to January 1999.These graves are all furnished with mounds enclosed by walls built of stone blocks in one to three courses.They are shaft-and-cave rock-cut pits except for M6 without cave.The shaft is filled with rammed earth,and the cave is blockaded with a stone or timber structure and contains double coffins(or on the shaft bottom for M6).Tomb M3 lies on the summit.It is the largest in scale and the most elaborate in filling and blockage,the cave keeping building remains and its southern side having a horse-and-chariot niche.Despite robbery,it yielded rather rich funeral objects,numbering 174 pieces/sets,varying widely in type and astonishing in workmanship.The tomb-owner may have been a marquisate or even higher-status member of the Chu prince kin.The other tombs are mostly on the hill-slope and smaller in scale,M4 being closest to M3 in location and containing also remains of tile and wooden buildings,while the rest of burials lying a little farther away from M3 and having no traces of structures inside.They were also robbed and yielded lesser objects.Resembling each other in tomb form and containing grave goods with clear late Western Han features,the five tombs can be assigned roughly to the later mid to earlier late Western Han period,or the Emperor Xuandi to Chengdi reign.Moreover,close to each other in location and date,they seem to belong to the graveyard of the same kin or to be a prime tomb(M3)with a group of accompanying burials.The excavation has great value to researching into the tomb structure,burial institution and material culture of the Han period in the Xuzhou area.
