CGTN | 02-Aug-2020 | By Hong Yaobin
Here is a chance to take a glimpse at one of the most luxurious cars that existed in China around 3,000 years ago.
Chinese archaeologists have restored a bronze chariot dating from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC) after three years of work, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology announced Thursday. The chariot was unearthed at the Zhouyuan Site in Baoji, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. It had been crushed into thousands of fragments when discovered.
During the excavation archaeologists also found skeletal remains of four horses nearby. Dubbed the cradle of the Western Zhou Dynasty – one of the earliest periods in China’s written history, the Zhouyuan Site, where ruins of the dynasty are located, is believed to be the dwelling place of Duke Danfu, an early leader of the Zhou clan. Archaeologists started to restore and clean the unearthed items in 2017. The structure and details of the vehicles unearthed, though buried for thousands of years, are clearly presented after restoration and cleaning.
Luxurious vehicle with rich adornment
The original vehicle, 3.13 meters long, 2.7 meters wide and 1.5 meters high, has rich and clear ornamentation. The coach on the vehicle contains a large number of bronze components inlaid with turquoise, bronze fittings patterned with animal faces, as well as jade and color-painted components.
(Top image: A restored bronze chariot is on display at a base of Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology in Xi’an City, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, July 30, 2020. /Xinhua)
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