Digging to start on horse-chariot chamber

JINGZHOU, Hubei: Archaeologists are starting work on the horse-chariot chamber of a tomb that dates back up to 2,400 years - more than a century older than the world-renowned Terracotta Warriors near Xi'an.

Yan Pin, director of the archaeology bureau of Jingzhou, Hubei Province, where the tomb is located, said: "Excavation is ready to start on the 131-m-long horse-chariot sector of the Xiongjiazhong Tomb before February."

The tomb is the largest and best preserved from the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The excavation was formally launched last August after three comprehensive surveys were made since 1979.