Tibet’s earliest tombs unearthed
View of the Gebusailu historical site in Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet.
The earliest-known tombs in Tibet was discovered in the region’s Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture by a joint archaeological team from the Cultural Relic Protection and Research Institute and the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.
Xiage Wangdul, an archaeologist with the Tibet Autonomous Region Cultural Relic Protection and Research Institute, said on April 9 that based on measurements from radioactive carbon, the tombs in this area can be dated back to two periods: 3,560-3,000 years ago and 2,310-2,127 years ago.
The Gebusailu historical site is located in the Sangda Ravine about 10 kilometers north of Zanda County in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. “The Gebusailu cemetery has the earliest-known tombs in Tibet. Burial articles found in the tombs include stone tools, bronze ware, and pottery.”
According to reports, more than 300 relics, including human bones and animal skeletons, and more than 20 analytical samples of rotted wood, charcoal, soil samples, and crop seeds were collected during the archaeological excavation.