Well-preserved murals found in millennia-old Chinese tomb

This undated photo shows murals in a Tang Dynasty (618-907) tomb excavated in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua)

TAIYUAN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Well-preserved murals depicting scenes from day-to-day life have been found in a Tang Dynasty (618-907) tomb excavated in Taiyuan, capital city of north China's Shanxi Province, according to archaeologists.

The single-chamber brick tomb, unearthed in 2018 during road construction, belonged to a man who died at 63 in the year 736. The Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology provided details about the discoveries related to the tomb on Tuesday.

The gates, corridor, ceiling, walls and coffin pedestal were all painted with murals, and among them, the tomb gate, the corridor as well as the chamber gate feature pairs of figures on both sides which were conjectured to represent guardians.

Among these vivid murals, two on separate walls of the tomb chamber particularly attracted the attention of the archaeologists.

One depicts various work scenes, including a man using a roller grinder to peel grain shells, a woman operating a stone mill, a man making dough and a woman lifting water with an ancient Chinese heavy-lifting device. The other mural features a woman in a multicolored gown, a man from a non-Han ethnic group holding a horsewhip, and images of horses and camels.

These findings are of great value for the study of Tang Dynasty tomb murals, according to archaeologists. ■

This undated photo shows a mural depicting various work scenes in a Tang Dynasty (618-907) tomb excavated in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua)

This undated photo shows a mural in a Tang Dynasty (618-907) tomb excavated in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua)