Archaeologists have discovered an ancient cemetery in China, located along Silk Road that once connected the traders of China, India, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Ten tombs have been excavated, seven of which consisted of large brick "structures," according to Live Science. One of the tombs, which has been called M3 by archaeologists on the dig, was found with carvings of several mythical creatures, like the four iconic symbols of ancient China.
The four symbols each represent a different season and cardinal direction: the White Tiger of the West (autumn), the Vermilion Bird of the South (summer), the Black Turtle of the North (winter) and the Azure Dragon of the East (spring).
The cemetery dates back to around 300 CE and was discovered in the city of Kucha, an ancient city bolstered by the Silk Route economy and influential as a major Buddhist center from the Antiquities through the Middle Ages. At the time, Kucha would have been at the height of its power and importance.
"In ancient times, Kucha was called Qiuci in Chinese literature. It was a powerful city-state in the oasis of the Western Frontiers," researchers said, according to Live Science. "The conquest and effective governance of Kucha would enable them to control all the oasis city-states in the Western Frontiers."
The cemetery was first uncovered in 2007, and has since been slowly excavated by researchers with the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology over the last several years.
Their findings were detailed in the journal Chinese Cultural Relics.
"The conquest and effective governance of Kucha would enable them to control all the oasis city-states in the Western Frontiers," the researchers said.
Researchers don't know who is buried in the tombs yet. They say the tombs have been looted over the years and though they were most likely built for people of means, they came to be used more than once.
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