Ancient Tang Dynasty tombs excavated in China. In an ancient tomb dating back to the 700s, Chinese archaeologists found an intact wall painting, providing unprecedented perspectives on life in ancient China.
The Tang Dynasty ruled much of present-day central and eastern China between 618 and 907. This ancient tomb has murals depicting daily life at that time. A mural in this ancient tomb also depicts a "Western man" with blond hair and a beard. This man is likely from Central Asia, Victor Xiong - professor of history at Western Michigan University, USA, shared with Live Science.
The ancient tomb was discovered in 2018 during road construction on a hillside on the outskirts of Taiyuan, capital of northern China's Shanxi province. However, Chinese archaeologists only announced when the excavation was completed last month.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the inscription in the ancient tomb states that this is the burial place of a 63-year-old man who died in 736 and his wife.
The ancient tomb has a brick compartment, a door and a hallway. Scenes of Tang Dynasty life are adorned on the walls of ancient tombs, in doors, hallways and coffin pedestals. The ceiling of this ancient tomb is also painted with dragons and phoenixes.
Some of the figures near the doors of ancient tombs represent "doorkeepers" or guardians of the tomb. According to Xinhua News Agency, these gatekeepers wore yellow robes and some wore swords at their belts. Other murals depict natural scenes, showing men threshing rice, women grinding flour, men making noodles and women carrying water from wells.
The SCMP newspaper said that the murals in the ancient tomb show the style of painting under trees that was popular in the Son Tay region at that time. As the name suggests, this style features people doing activities underneath beautiful trees.
Many figures in the wall paintings of ancient tombs resemble Chinese men and women . Archaeologists believe that this may be a drawing of two people buried in an ancient tomb. In one scene, a woman wearing a brightly colored outfit is leading four horses, next to a bearded man holding a whip.
Other murals depict mountains, trees and camels. Meanwhile, the series of paintings around the coffin likely represent the owner of the ancient Chinese tomb during different stages of his life, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The murals in ancient tombs seem to be very well preserved. Mr. Victor Xiong noted that the "non-Han" blond man was leading a camel and had special clothing. "Based on facial features and clothing style, we can determine that it is a Westerner, possibly a Sogdian from Central Asia" - Victor Xiong said.
During the Tang Dynasty, the Sogdians were traders along the Silk Routes between Asia and Europe, living mainly in what is now Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Many of the murals show "never seen before" images of daily work and labor during the Tang Dynasty, Mr. Xiong added.
