Three Han dynasty tombs at Ma‐wang‐tui

Abstract

Taken together, the three Ma‐wang‐tui tombs are probably the richest discovery in Chinese archaeology since 1949. Tomb No. 1 belonging to Lady Li and Tomb No. 3, the burial of her son, date from the mid‐second century B.C. and were found in a remarkably well‐preserved state. Tomb No. 2 which belonged to Li Ts'ang (d. 186 B.C.), the Marquis of Tai, had been opened by tomb robbers on several occasions and contained little of interest. Excavations of Tombs No. 1 and No. 3, revealed the construction of the tombs and the marvellously preserved contents of the tomb‐chambers. These include the corpse of Lady Li, two magnificent funerary banners, and a host of grave‐furnishings including copies of classical texts, maps, medical treatises, musical instruments, lacquerware, sacrificial vessels and funerary food‐offerings. The form of the burials does much to illuminate the nature of the Ch'u culture that thrived in the Ch'ang‐sha area until the late third century B.C., and will help explain how the Ch'u people were absorbed into the empire of Western Han (206 b.c.‐a.d. 8).

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