Six major archaeological discoveries in 2015
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E-mail China Daily, December 14, 2015
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A painted frame of a se with circular carved phoenix head and painted vertical scale patterns on part of the body is excavated in Guojiamiao cemetery. [Photo/kaogu.cn] |
Ancient music and dance relics discovered in Hubei
Archeological workers started excavating Guojiamiao cemetery in Zaoqiang county of Hubei province since November in 2014. In late January of 2015, they announced their latest finds of more than 1000 artifacts made of bronze, pottery, lacquered wood, bone, leather, jade and other materials.
Among them, several traditional musical instruments were found in early January which were considered to be the oldest of their kinds. These artifacts were unearthed in good condition at the tomb group, which covers an area of 1.2 million square meters.
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An aerial view of Guojiamiao cemetery. [Photo/Xinhua] |
According to experts in Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, all these musical instruments were made and used in the early Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), including an earliest known se (a twenty-five-stringed plucked instrument, somewhat similar to the zither ) dating to about 2,700 years ago.
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