Stone Vessel Helps Archaeologists Identify Tomb in China

LUOYANG, CHINA—Xinhua reports that a stone vessel unearthed in central China’s Henan Province has helped archaeologists identify the tomb of an emperor from the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 25–220). The vessel, which measures about ten inches tall and 30 inches in diameter, is inscribed with the date of the third year of Guanghe, or A.D. 180, during the reign of Liu Hong. He built a mausoleum complete with a yard, corridor, well, path, and drainage channel for his predecessor, Emperor Liu Zhi. “Together with the previous documents about the location of the emperor’s tomb, the discovery makes us almost certain that it is the tomb of Emperor Liu Zhi,” said Wang Xianqiu of the Luoyang City Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute. To read about a 13,500-year-old bird sculpture unearthed in Henan, go to "Oldest Chinese Artwork," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2020.