The Excavation of the tomb of Bai, Lord of the Zhongli State

Abstract

AbstractThe tomb of Bai, Lord of the State of Zhongli, located in Shuangdun Village, Bengbu City, Anhui, was excavated by the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Bengbu Museum from December 2006 through August 2008. This tomb was a large-scale vertical earthen shaft pit tomb with a tumulus at ground level; the grave was in a circular plan with a ring-shaped ledge of primary soil 2m below the opening. The tomb passageway was situated to the precise east of the grave. In the tumulus and the tomb fill, “five-colored soil”, a buffer layer of white clay, “radial lines”, earthen “hillocks”, and “clay figurine walls” were recovered, and the tomb chamber was cross-shaped. The structure was original and the remains were complex; the grave goods were very rich, with over 500 items recovered, including bronze bells,