Painted Floor Found in 1,000-Year-Old Tomb in Northeast China

SHENYANG, CHINA—According to a Xinhua report, images of carriages and horses, flowers, dragons, and a phoenix have been found painted on the walls and floor of a tomb in a Liao Dynasty cemetery (A.D. 907-1125) in northeast China’s Liaoning Province. Si Weiwei of the Liaoning Province Archaeological Institute explained that this is the first known example of a tomb with a painted floor from the Liao Dynasty. So far, four tombs in the cemetery have been excavated. They also yielded ceramics, silk fabrics, and wooden, jade, and stone objects. The cemetery is thought to have belonged to Han Derang, who served as a prime minister during the Liao Dynasty, and his descendants, Si added. To read about a tomb dating to around the same period in China, go to “Underground Party.”