Golden Surprise: Mural in 1,500-Year-Old Chinese Tomb Depicting Blonde Man Stuns Archaeologists
Archaeologists found an ancient tomb in northern China and were surprised when one of the murals in the place featured a man with blonde hair. The tomb was discovered in the capital of the Shanxi Province, Popular Mechanics reported.
It was unearthed during a 2018 reconstruction project on a hillside road, but archaeologists reported their findings in 2024.
The tomb was dated by experts to be from the Tang Dynasty, Popular Mechanics reported. Archaeologists believe the tomb was owned by a man who died in 736 AD at age 63, during the middle of the Tang dynasty. The man and his wife are buried in the tomb. Most of the murals feature them doing their daily activities.
In one of the drawings, a woman is seen leading four horses, adorning a colorful gown, Live Science reported. The woman is being accompanied by a bearded man holding a whip. Experts believe that the illustration is based on the owner and his wife.
The murals were created in the "figure under a tree" style, which was popular during that time, Live Science reported. The style illustrated people taking part in activities under the shadow of beautiful trees. This style has also been found in the Xinjiang, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Gansu regions.
Daily activities shown in the murals include men threshing grain, women grinding flour, men making noodles, and women fetching water from a well, Live Science reported. Some murals also portray natural landscapes.
One of the murals features a "Westerner" with blond hair and a beard, Live Science reported. The man probably came from Central Asia, according to Victor Xiong, a professor of history at Western Michigan University, who wasn't involved in the tomb project.
The blonde man in the murals is leading camels. Xiong believes he was a Sogdian from Central Asia, because of his facial features and outfit style. Sogdians were a group of traders who worked on the Silk Road routes between Asia and Europe.
The tomb contains a single brick chamber, a door, and a corridor. The murals have been drawn on the walls of the tomb, the door, the corridor, as well as, the platform on which the coffin had been placed.
The series of paintings around the coffin might be depicting the tomb owner at various stages in his life, according to experts, Live Science reported.
The domed ceiling of the chamber has murals depicting either a dragon or phoenix, Live Science reported. Figures painted near the door symbolize the guardians of the tomb. The figures are adorning yellow robes and some of them also have swords in their hands.
Long Zhen, director of the Jinyang Ancient City Research Institute, of the Taiyuan Cultural Relics Protection Research Institute claims that the murals, closely match in features, the paintings found in the tomb of Wang Shenzi, a key figure in the late 800s, Popular Mechanics reported. The expert believes that both could be the work of the same artist.
Xiong asserts that the murals will help experts to know more about the Tang dynasty, and the lifestyle people followed during those times, Live Science reported.