10 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A collection of 430 burial objects found in the tomb of a 3000-year-old Noblewoman in China

A tomb belonging to a noblewoman dating back about 3,000 years has been unearthed in North China’s Shanxi Province.

The tomb, designated as M1033, was discovered in the Dahekou cemetery, Yicheng County. Over 600 burials and 20 chariot-and-horse pits have been discovered during the excavation of the Western Zhou Dynasty’s Dahekou Cemetery in Yicheng County, Shanxi Province, since 2007.

More importantly, the finding of the Dahekou cemetery has shed light on the existence of the Ba state, previously undocumented in the historical texts of the Western Zhou.

Bronze inscriptions found in Dahekou cemetery indicate that the state clan name was Ba 霸, with Ba Bo (the Earl of Ba) as the paramount ruler.

Burial objects recovered from the Dahekou Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Yicheng County of Linfen City, Shanxi province. Photo:  China Daily
Burial objects recovered from the Dahekou Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Yicheng County of Linfen City, Shanxi province. Photo: China Daily

Given that most of the province was under Jin state control during this time, it is extremely valuable for research on the feudal states in Shanxi’s southern region during the Western Zhou period and their interactions with the Jin state.

The discovery was announced by the Shanxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology. A pit in the middle holds the remains of a sacrificed animal, and the tomb itself is medium-sized, according to Xie Yaoting, the leader of the archaeological team.

Burial objects recovered from the Dahekou Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Yicheng County of Linfen City, Shanxi province. Photo:  China Daily
Burial objects recovered from the Dahekou Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Yicheng County of Linfen City, Shanxi province. Photo: China Daily

The tomb’s owner was a female between 31 and 34 years old who was buried in a supine posture with straight limbs. Archaeologists believe that the tomb’s owner was likely a middle-ranking noblewoman from the mid-Western Zhou (1046BC-771BC) period.

Burial objects recovered from the Dahekou Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Yicheng County of Linfen City, Shanxi province. Photo:  China Daily
Burial objects recovered from the Dahekou Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Yicheng County of Linfen City, Shanxi province. Photo: China Daily

The tomb yielded a collection of 430 burial objects divided into 93 groups, including bronze wares, pottery, jade artifacts, and shellfish containers.

Cover Photo: Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology

Related Articles

New Findings from 3,000-year-old Uluburun shipwreck: Uzbekistan Nomads Supplied a Third of the Bronze Used Across Ancient Mediterranean

5 December 2022

5 December 2022

A new study of the 3,o00 years old Uluburun shipwreck revealed a complex ancient trading network during the late bronze...

Venice of the Pacific: The mysterious Micronesian ruins of Nan Madol

12 July 2022

12 July 2022

Sometimes art and architecture challenge our perceptions of what was formerly thought to be feasible and what our forefathers were...

In the ancient city of Syedra: a unique mosaic with the 12 labors of Heracles depicted on a single panel found

25 July 2022

25 July 2022

During the excavations in the ancient city of Syedra in the Alanya district of Antalya, approximately 164 square meters of...

Treasure Hunter Claims to Find First Council of Nicaea’s Location, Demands $50 Million for Discovery

26 April 2025

26 April 2025

In a startling revelation, Mustafa Uysal, a treasure hunter from Bursa, has claimed to have unearthed an underground city in...

Hidden Treasure from WWII: 500,000 Phantom Ceramic Coins Found

8 November 2024

8 November 2024

About 500,000 Maboroshi (phantom) ceramic coins manufactured due to metal shortages during World War II were discovered in a warehouse...

A 130,000-year-old Stingray Sand Sculpture on South Africa’s Coast May Be the World’s Oldest Animal Art

4 April 2024

4 April 2024

Analyzing this object, which at first glance looks like a symmetrical rock, the research team speculated that it could be...

Mummy of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep ‘unwrapped’ for the first time in 3,500 years!

30 December 2021

30 December 2021

Egyptian scientists have digitally unwrapped the 3,500-year-old mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I. For the first time, a team in Egypt...

Where We Saw Sin, There Was Care: A Baby Buried in a Medieval Belgian Brothel

23 May 2025

23 May 2025

A medieval brothel in Belgium yields a discovery that forces historians to confront forgotten tenderness in places long seen only...

A Decorated Block with Decapitated Gaul Found for the First Time in Toul, France

22 July 2024

22 July 2024

A Corinthian-style carved block that was once part of the entablature of a monumental Gallo-Roman public building has been discovered...

The bronze age village Afragola buried by the Plinian eruption of mount Vesuvius 4,000 Years Ago

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Mount Vesuvius’ Plinian eruption about 4,000 years ago—2,000 years before it buried the Roman city of Pompeii—left remarkable preservation of...

A 2,000-year-old monumental Roman villa Found Under a Seaside May Be Pliny the Elder’s house

23 January 2024

23 January 2024

Researchers have discovered the remnants of a massive Roman villa thought to have ties to Pliny the Elder while working...

Teacher unearthed stone with ancient ogham writing from Ireland in Coventry garden

9 May 2024

9 May 2024

A geography teacher, Graham Senior, stumbled across a rock with mysterious incisions while tidying his overgrown garden in Coventry, England. ...

A prehistoric monument consisting of three round enclosures, one of which resembles a horseshoe, was discovered in France

7 April 2024

7 April 2024

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) unearthed an unusual, prehistoric monument in the shape of...

Archaeologists unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla in Türkiye

11 March 2024

11 March 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla...

Lost Children’s Circle: Seven Infant Remains Unearthed in Mysterious Hittite Ritual Structure at Uşaklı Höyük

8 August 2025

8 August 2025

At the heart of Uşaklı Höyük (Uşaklı Mound), archaeologists have uncovered the “Lost Children’s Circle” — a mysterious Hittite-era ritual...