Grave robbers looted lavish 1,800-year-old tombs in China — but missed this one

Archaeologists in China have discovered the 1,800-year-old tombs of a wealthy family, but soon realized that of the three lavish burials, only one had escaped the attention of grave robbers. 

Although the two looted tombs are now in poor condition, the other tomb is untouched and contains more than 70 artifacts, including an iron sword and a bronze mirror, placed there as grave offerings.

The burials, which date to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 220) were found during excavation at Dazhuangzi Village in the southern part of Rizhao, a coastal city in Shandong province about 360 miles (580 kilometers) southeast of Beijing.

According to a translated statement from China's Institute of Archaeology, the tombs were under a burial mound at a local park that had been badly damaged by farming in the past, and the excavations there were carried out before the park was expanded.

Two people had been buried in each of the three tombs, in coffins made of wood; and all three had sloping, paved "tomb roads" leading down to them. One of the looted tombs and the unlooted tomb contain inscriptions with the surname "Huan," which implies the tomb complex belonged to the same wealthy family, the statement noted. 

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Ancient tombs

The untouched tomb is in the shape of a "knife handle" about 22 feet (6.7 meters) long; and its central chamber was filled with green clay sometime after the two coffins and grave goods were placed there.