Archaeologists have uncovered a Liao Dynasty (A.D. 907–1125) brick tomb in Datong City in northern China’s Shanxi Province. The tomb had been looted, but only valuable, portable artifacts were taken, which left its remarkable wall paintings intact. The murals cover more than 160 square feet and depict constellations, wooden architecture, travel, and daily life. One panel shows servants standing around an empty bed while a cat plays with a silk ball and a dog, to the right, looks on, perhaps a bit jealously.
Tomb of the Jealous Dog
SHARE:
Recommended Articles
Off the Grid January/February 2025
Tzintzuntzan, Mexico
Enrique/AdobeStock
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2025
Bad Moon Rising
Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2025
100-Foot Enigma
George E. Koronaios/Wikimedia Commons
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2025
Colonial Companions
NadiaPera/AdobeStock
-
Features March/April 2015
The Vikings in Ireland
A surprising discovery in Dublin challenges long-held ideas about when the Scandinavian raiders arrived on the Emerald Isle
-
Letter From the Marshall Islands March/April 2015
Defuzing the Past
Unexploded ordnance from WWII is a risk for the people of the Marshall Islands—and a challenge for archaeologists
-
Artifacts March/April 2015
Antler Chess Pieces
(Courtesy Andy Chapman/MOLA Northampton) -
Digs & Discoveries March/April 2015
Seismic Shift
(Courtesy Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)