Discovery of the Doulu Family Cemetery

Near the new Xi'an-Xianyang airport, archaeologists discovered a Northern Dynasties family cemetery. In the tomb passage of M3, excavators found the top section of a stele. From it, they confirmed that the tomb belonged to the famous Northern Zhou figure Doulu En 豆卢恩. Both he and his elder brother Doulu Ning 豆卢宁 were important officials during the Western Wei and Northern Zhou. Doulu En who died in 566 was particularly well-known for his outstanding military service.  The Doulu family was a famous Xianbei clan that often intermarried with the royal family. The cemetery consists of four tombs. The cemetery still has its complete, surrounding ditch, so it is the most complete Northern Zhou cemetery ever found in Shannxi. The four tombs have three generations of the Doulu family. The tombs have many grave goods: 395 in all. The main body of Doulu En stele is at Xianyang's Confucian temple. The tomb of Doulu Zheng has two styles of figurines: those of the Northern Zhou and the Sui. One remarkable piece is a clay camel that is carrying a sack with the face of Bacchus, the Greek god of wine.

For more information, please see Kaogu zhong de Zhongguo here.

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