Will riddle of China’s 2,200-year-old tomb dating back to Warring States Period finally be solved?
- There is speculation the Wuwangdun burial site belongs to Kaolie, one of the last kings of the Chu state
- More could be clear later this year with the full excavation of the area, lead researcher says
Archaeologists could know later this year who was laid to rest in a massive 2,200-year-old-tomb being excavated in eastern China.
Gong Xicheng, a researcher at the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, told state news agency Xinhua on Wednesday that researchers were working to complete the excavation of the “Wuwangdun” tomb – which covers about 1.5 sq km (0.6 square miles) – in the province this year.
“And perhaps the mystery of the tomb owner’s identity will be solved by then,” Gong said.
The tomb dates back to the Warring States Period and is the biggest and “highest-level” of its kind from the state of Chu.
At its height, the Chu state was a vast area along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
The Chu state lasted for about 800 years before being conquered in 223BC by Emperor Qinshihuang, who later established China’s first unified dynasty.