Guozishan Tomb in East China's Jiangxi Province Photo: Web

The owner of an ancient tomb complex in East China dating back to more than 2,000 years ago "was a noble," experts announced at a press conference on Saturday. The owner's identity was determined based on two excavated weapons that once belonged to the descendants of a well-known king of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256BC).

zheng, an ancient stringed instrument. At 2.3 meters in length, it is the longest zheng ever discovered. Photo: Web

Two dagger-axes were discovered in the Guozishan Tomb in East China's Jiangxi Province. According to inscriptions on the weapons, they respectively belonged to the great-grandson and great-great-grandson of King Goujian, a powerful leader of the Kingdom of Yue.

"The [Guozishan] Tomb is the largest tomb complex from the East Zhou Dynasty discovered in Jiangxi," an expert working at the archaeological excavation site announced at the conference.

"We can see that that the tomb owner was of high social rank."

Started in 2017, excavation on the tomb has uncovered more than 2,600 objects ranging from metal wares, pottery and jade wares to instruments, weapons and daily use items, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.

Another highlight in the tomb was a zheng, an ancient stringed instrument. At 2.3 meters in length, it is "the longest zheng ever discovered," said a local report.

Guozishan tomb,  located on the top of a hill, and is surrounded by rectangular ditches.

The tomb is about 16 meters long and 14.4 meters wide, where seven coffins were found in the 230-square-meter burial chamber. 

Two mythological beast ornaments were discovered in East China's Shandong Province in April 2021. Photo: Web

The last time an Eastern Zhou Dynasty tomb caught the attention of the public was in April, when two mythological beast ornaments were discovered in East China's Shandong Province. The pair, a rare find in China according to experts, were described as "extremely adorable" by many Chinese netizens. 

The bird-shaped pottery ornaments are more than 2,000 years old, according to an April report from the Qilu Evening News, a local newspaper in Shandong reported.

"They are particularly odd-looking burial items. It is rare to see their like, at least I've never seen any burial items shaped like them," introduced Sun Qirui, head of the archaeological team, which once publicly solicited names from the society.

"Though odd-looking, this doesn't mean they were more valuable. Their maker may have just wanted to improvise a little while designing them," said Sun.

Global Times