Ancient Shang Dynasty coffins unearthed

Three sets of coffins believed to have been buried 3,000 years ago were unearthed in Central China's Henan province on Monday and taken to a museum in Anyang, sources said on Tuesday.

Last month, a villager digging a kiln in Anshang's Neihuang county discovered tombs 10 meters underground that included bronze items and human and animal bones.

Following a preliminary excavation, experts from the Anyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology found 22 tombs from the late Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC), the second dynasty in Chinese history.

They recovered three sets of inner and outer coffins made of cypress wood, along with another single coffin. In ancient times, an outer coffin was used to protect the inner coffin.

Kong Deming, head of the institute, said it's rare to see such well-preserved Shang coffins.

"It is a family burial place," he said. "The owners were affluent people, possibly aristocrats."

He said the discovery might help archaeologists learn more about Shang burial customs and understand cultural development. The excavation could also be helpful in geological studies, since the coffins were buried so deep, he added.

The Shang capital was once in Shangqiu, Henan, and later moved to Anyang, where ruins of the old city were discovered in the early 1900s. That archaeological site is one of China's oldest and largest.