Historic tomb artifacts make debut in China's museum

Seven artifacts unearthed from a high-profile tomb on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau made their debut on Tuesday in the provincial museum of northwest China's Qinghai.

The delicate artifacts included a phoenix hairpin and a gold necklace, both with inlaid kallaites, and a string of agate beads. They were discovered in the Xuewei No.1 Tomb, part of the Reshui Tombs in Dulan County.

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

Archaeologists believe that the craftsmanship and design of some burial objects have Central and West Asian ethnic features, indicating 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," said Han Jianhua, associate researcher with the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The museum tries to introduce the tomb to the audience through various means such as miniature landscape, tomb model restoration, films and documentaries, Han said.

The Xuewei No.1 Tomb was selected as one of China's top 10 archaeological finds of 2020.