Chinas famous horse-and-chariot tomb will soon be excavated

A major excavation work will soon begin at the famous horse-and-chariot chamber of a 2,400-year old tomb in central Chinas Hubei Province.

New Delhi, Nov 29 : A major excavation work will soon begin at the famous horse-and-chariot chamber of a 2,400-year old tomb in central China's Hubei Province.

"Excavation will start on the 131-meter-long horse-chariot sector of the Xiongjiazhong Tomb before February, 2008," said Yan Pin, director of the Archaeology Bureau of Jingzhou.

The tomb is more than 100 years older than the tomb containing the terracotta army, and is the largest and best preserved yet found in China from the State of Chu.

The excavation was formally launched in August 2006 after three comprehensive surveys of the tomb that were made since 1979, and the work has been progressing scoop by scoop, with the usage of the state-of-the-art mapping and computerized technology.

"We have found more than 30 horse-and-chariot pits arrayed in a row in the tomb. It is the largest of such finds from the Warring States Period," Xinhua quoted Yan, as saying.

The archaeologists still do not know the occupant of the tomb, which covers an area of 60,000 square meters, but many scholars suspect that the master of the tomb was one of the 11 kings, who ruled the State of Chu.

"The great probability is that the tomb is of King Zhao of Chu, named Xiong Zhen, who was the last king of the state," said Xu Wenwu, a professor with the Changjiang University.

It is most likely that the tomb is expected to be turned into a museum, like that of the tomb of the terracotta warriors in the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang in Shaanxi.

ANI