In the West Han Dynasty of 206BC-24BC, many tombs and

gravesites were constructed around China. The ‘Mawangdui’ tombs

were some of the best preserved and most archeologically
rewarding found of that time period.

The tombs are located in Changsha, the capital city of the province
Hunan which is located in South East China. The tombs were
discovered in 1972 and the excavation lasted two years until 1974.
The excavation was carried about by a team of Chinese
archaeologists and workers, led by Hou Liang of the Hunan Museum.

As with most ancient burial sites, the discovery was made due to
modern day progress. At the end of 1971, local troops had planned
to construct an underground hospital of the site of Mawangdui.
While workers were probing underneath the mound with drills, a
pungent gas escaped from the drill hole. Some workers tested the
gas by lighting it to which a strange, blue flame emerged. When the
news broke at the Hunan Museum of the anomalies, Hou Liang was
early to recognise that the workers had discovered an ancient tomb.
However by the time Hou arrived at the site, 3 days had passed and
despite great efforts, none of the gas could be collected to analyse.

Discovery was no surprise to locals though, as the area had always

been known as ‘Ma’andui’, meaning “Horse King Mound”. This was
later misrepresented as ‘Mawangdui’, giving it them name it is now
referred to. It was commonly referred to as a tomb from the 9th
century, but no one had further details and no one could have
expected it would be the resting place of such archaeological
treasures.

The site is made up of 3 tombs. The first tomb is the biggest,

measuring 19.5m long, 17.8m wide and 16m deep. The other tombs
were of similar measurements, on smaller scales. The tombs were
constructed of large cypress planks and the outside of the tombs
were covered in charcoal and a white, clay like substance. The
tombs were set out on the site like this, with the first tomb being the
biggest, the second tomb directly west of the first and the third
tomb directly south of the first. The occupants of the tomb are Lady
Dai, the First Marques of Dai and what is believed to be their son,
respectively.

The inner coffin container consisted of four wooden boxes, each

enclosed within the next. The outer wooden coffin containers were
made from extremely heavy wooden planks. The space of the inner
and outer coffins were divided into four sections for burial
equipment

The most well preserved and exciting of the tombs is the first, of
Lady Dai. Lady Dai was in her fifties when she died over 2100 years
ago in 163 BC and was remarkably well preserved and mummified.
Her body was nestled within the innermost coffin; each coffin was
elaborately decorated with painted scenes such as clouds, monsters
dancing and playing zithers and auspicious animals. Her body
weighing 34.3kg and 1.54m high was in astoundingly good
condition, her corpse was complete and the whole body was still
moist and supple. Some of her joints could move and her organs
and surrounding tissues were still intact, and the skin still flexible. In
her oesophagus, stomach and intestines, 138 1/2 muskmelon seeds
were found, indicating that she might have died shortly after eating
a melon. An autopsy was even able to be performed on her. This
autopsy showed that she probably died of a heart attack, brought
about by her diet rich in fats and sugars. The discovery of a body in
this state was remarkable, even more so as this is what is known as
a ‘wet’ body, unlike mummies in Egypt which are ‘dry’. There is no
true explanation to why Lady Dai was so well preserved as many
other discoveries have been made of remains from the same time
period which have been in no where near as good condition as hers.
Much debate surrounds her discovery.

The second tomb had unfortunately been vandalised and plundered

many times by grace robbers since being built so did not yield the
same results as the first. It did contain the remains of the First
Marques of Dai who died in 186BC. The third tomb contained the
body of the male relation to Lady Dai and The Marques of Dai,
believed to be their son. The bodies in the second and third tomb
were no where near as well preserved as the first and no autopsies
were able to be made on them.

The tombs followed a mixture of Western Han Dynasty and Chu

burial practices. White clay layering was a practice that originated
with Chu burials and charcoal layering was a practice that was
followed during the early Western Han Dynasty. The tombs
contained nested and lacquered coffins which is a Chu burial custom
and they also followed the burial practices dictated by Emperor Wen
of Han by containing no jade or precious metals. This also helped to
date the burials. There was no doubt that the 3 bodies found in the
tombs were not sacrificed or killed in any religious practices.

Over 3000 artefacts were discovered at Mawangdui and the tombs

were filled with a rich variety especially Lady Dai’s tomb which was
filled with many things of varying nature. The tomb was littered with
remnants of foods such as lotus soup, grains and a complete meal
including soup, rice and meat skewers on a lacquer set and the
skeletons of living animals for eating. This and the obese state of
her body points to the lifestyle of gluttony led by Lady Dai. The
tomb also held articles of clothing and many items of pottery. Some
of this pottery was mortuary ‘mingqi’ or ‘glorious vessels’. These
were pottery representations of things such as farm and domestic
animals, servants and musicians, fish, stoves and a bucket and
pulley system. These items would have been displayed to the public
at some point during the funeral ceremony. Archaeologists also
found a wardrobe containing an array of fine silks; one silk gown
had sleeves measuring almost 2 metres long and weighed 49g. Her
personal cosmetics were also found, along with a hairpiece and
mittens.

The second tomb did not have any artefacts of worth due to
repeated plundering but the third tomb contained many inscribed
bamboo slips and over 200 rolls of silk that contained writings on
politics, economics, philosophy, history, astronomy, geography,
science, military affairs and art. One of the earliest copies of the
Zhou Yi, a book on divination and the Laozi, a text on virtue and
morals was found among the collection. The beginnings of the art of
Tai Chi are also said to be detailed in some of the texts.
These texts known as the ‘Mawangdui Silk texts’ are highly valued
and very useful to archaeologists and historians researching the
subjects detailed in the texts, relating to a time period where there
is little to no evidence to support claims.

The discovery of such artefacts indicates that the unknown

occupant of the tomb was a respected scholar and very
knowledgeable on many subjects.

Perhaps the most famous of the artefacts found at Mawangdui

though were the silk funeral banners. The sarcophagus of the first
tomb was covered by a t-shaped colourful silk banner. It is the best
preserved painting of its kind from the Han Dynasty with high
artistic value. It was held by the person who headed the funeral
procession and then draped over the coffin when burying the dead.
This particular silk painting from Number 1 tomb can be divided into
three parts. The upper part is about the heaven, the middle part is
about the earth and the lower part is about the afterlife. Heaven
means the end-result for life of the dead. Earth shows the wealth
and nobility of the dead when alive. World after death displays the
happiness of the dead in the after world. The whole painting is
symmetrical and colourful with fine depiction, reflecting the high
quality and skill involved in painting in the Western Han Dynasty. All
the mysteries, strange animals and mysterious signs in the painting
present us with a romantic world with its own sense of symbolism.
As yet no one has been able to interpret its real meaning.

‘Mawangdui’ was a very significant find, none only to the

archaeological community but to China’s culture and the world. All
artefacts from Lady Dai’s tomb and her body are now on exhibition
at the Hunan museum and Tomb 3 has been re-enforced with a
glass roof and is open to visit by the general public. Lady Dai’s
remains themselves are remarkable and vital to the understanding
of burial customs and treatment of remains in past times.