The Newsletter 61 Autumn 2012

A palace of eternity: A Chu King's tomb in Beidongshan

James Lin

Considered to be the ‘classic era’ in Chinese history, the Han Dynasty was the first longstanding imperial power in China, spanning four centuries (206 BC - AD 220). My own research on Han Dynasty material cultures has taken me to the major royal tombs in eastern China. These tombs were dug horizontally into mountains and divided into several different functional chambers. Despite their fortifications, the majority of Han tombs had been looted in antiquity and so they were excavated in the 1980s and 1990s in an eff ort to protect the remaining objects.

Download PDF from menu on right to read full article »