Liao Dynasty tomb unearthed in north China’s Inner Mongolia

HOHHOT, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) — Chinese archaeologists recently undertook an urgent excavation of a Liao Dynasty (907-1125) tomb in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China.
A brick-chamber tomb was discovered in Tongliao City in the eastern part of Inner Mongolia in August. While the tomb had not been looted, its top section had sustained some damage due to water seepage from a nearby reservoir.
A joint archaeological team, consisting of individuals from the region’s institute of cultural relics and archaeology along with the city’s cultural relics bureau, promptly initiated emergency excavation efforts.
The tomb, featuring a single brick chamber with a stepped passage, has a horseshoe-shaped layout. The tomb owner has been identified as a middle-aged male.
Burial artifacts unearthed from the tomb include porcelain bowls and plates, pottery jars and pots, as well as iron stirrups, knives, arrowheads, and hooks.
Archaeologists used the tomb’s structure and characteristics of the burial objects to date it.
The field excavation has now been completed, and the archaeological team is in the process of restoring and preserving the cultural relics, as well as compiling and analyzing the gathered data. ■