XINZHOU, CHINA—Live Science reports that a team from the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology has excavated a large tomb dating to ca. A.D. 600. A long corridor in the tomb was decorated with an unusual array of murals, including depictions of fantastical creatures, such as a winged horse carrying a tiger in its mouth, a blue monster-like figure that appears to be leaping or falling, and a nearly naked god known as the Master of the Wind running in the direction of the burial chamber. In additional to fantastical themes, the murals depict scenes from everyday life, such as horse trading and hunting. Though the tomb had been looted recently, the murals were undamaged. To read more about how Chinese archaeologists are dealing with looting, go to “Tomb Raider Chronicles.”
