A High-standard Tomb of the Xia Dynasty Unearthed at the Erlitou Site

A High-standard Tomb of the Xia Dynasty Unearthed at the Erlitou Site

二里头遗址发现一座高规格夏代墓葬

An inspiring news from the Erlitou site on January 10 -- A high-standard tomb of the Xia Dynasty (2100-1600 BC), lately discovered at the No. 5 base site of the Erlitou site's palace remains, is being cleaned up at the archaeological laboratory of the Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital.

1月10日，二里头遗址考古发掘又传出振奋人心的消息：不久前，二里头遗址宫殿区5号基址院内发现了一座高规格的夏代墓葬，目前正在二里头夏都遗址博物馆考古实验室进行清理。

Archaeologists start three-dimensional scan of the tomb. [Photo by Zhao Haitao/For Henan Daily]

Many potteries, lacquerwares and a piece of cicada-shaped jade ware were also unearthed in the tomb, together with pieces of turquoise scattered in the burial ground. Based on the latest archaeology, the tomb may contain large turquoise items.

工作人员已在墓葬中发现多件陶器、漆器和一件蝉形玉器，而且墓葬填土中散落多片绿松石片，根据目前的清理情况推测，该墓葬内会有大型绿松石器物。

"Located in the 3rd courtyard of the No. 5 base site, the tomb, in respect of its scale, belongs to the first class of its kind. At present, the discovery of the burial items is just getting started, suggesting that the tomb probably has the most abundant burial items since its depth exceeds that of any tomb ever found at the Erlitou site. It was also the first time that the cicada-shaped jade ware had been found at the Erlitou site. With the progress of the discovery, the future findings are worth our expectation." According to Zhao Haitao, an associate research fellow from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who heads the excavation team, the tomb was moved to the archaeological laboratory for cleanup due to its important location, high standard and good preservation, in order to comprehensively and deeply carry out the research work.

“这座墓葬位于5号基址第3进院内，从墓葬的规模来看，属于第一等级。目前，墓葬内的随葬品刚开始露出，其下方堆积的厚度超过已往发现的所有墓葬，该墓葬极有可能是二里头遗址迄今发现的随葬品最为丰富的一座，蝉形玉器在二里头遗址是首次被发现。随着实验室清理、发掘工作的推进，后面的发现非常值得期待。”中国社会科学院考古研究所副研究员、二里头工作队领队赵海涛透露，因为该墓葬位置重要、规格较高、保存完好，为全面、深入地提取信息、开展研究工作，将其整体搬迁至考古实验室内开展清理。

Prior to the discovery of this tomb, more than 100 items like jade wares, lacquerwares and seashell necklaces were found at the No. 3 tomb at the No. 5 base site, including the national treasure Turquoise Dragon. With great historical, artistic and scientific values, it is rare among China's early dragon-shaped cultural relics for its high workload, exquisite production and heavy use of turquoise.

此前，二里头遗址宫殿区3号基址院内3号墓葬出土了玉器、漆器、海贝项链等100多件器物，包括“超级国宝”绿松石龙，其用工之巨、制作之精、体量之大，在中国早期龙形象文物中实属罕见，具有极高的历史、艺术与科学价值。

As the work proceeds, more important discoveries may be made from the tomb.

随着清理工作的深入，该墓葬可能会有更重要的发现。（中文来源/河南日报 翻译/赵汉青 审校/张军平）