CSSN-Graves with canoe-shaped coffins unearthed

Graves with canoe-shaped coffins unearthed

Author : Source : Chinese Social Sciences Today 2017-03-27

More than 200 graves with canoe-shaped coffins were unearthed recently at Shuangyuan Village of Dawan County, Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Those graves date back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The grave of M 154 is the biggest in scale, containing a coffin six meters long and one meter wide. The coffin is carved from an entire tree trunk. Wang Tianyou, leader of the excavation team from the Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology of Chengdu, said considering the similarity of the unearthed objects between this one and that of the king of the ancient Shu Kingdom, the owner of M 154 is probably also of high status. The decorative pattern on the unearthed bronzeware indicates that some of the graves date back to the period before the Qin Kingdom conquered Shu Kingdom, said Liu Yumao, a colleague of Wang.

Editor: Yu Hui