Qinghai museum puts tomb relics on display

XINING－Seven pieces of artifacts unearthed from a well-known tomb on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau made their debut on Tuesday at the Qinghai Province Museum in Xining.

The items include a phoenix hairpin and a gold necklace, both with inlaid turquoise, and a string of agate beads. They were discovered in the Xuewei No 1 Tomb, part of the Reshui Tombs dating between the sixth and eighth centuries in Dulan county.

They are among over 1,000 pieces of artifacts found in the Xuewei No 1 Tomb, the most structurally intact tomb ever unearthed on the plateau.

Archaeologists say the craftsmanship and design of some burial objects have Central and West Asian ethnic features, indicating that the area used to be a pivotal hub on the ancient Silk Road.

"What the exhibition wants to display is not only cultural relics but also the archaeologists behind them, as well as the innovative ideas and technologies during the excavation process," says Han Jianhua, associate researcher with the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The museum is trying to introduce the tomb to audiences through various means, such as miniature landscape, tomb model, films and documentaries, Han says.

The Xuewei No 1 Tomb was one of the top 10 archaeological finds of 2020 in the country.