China org

Archeologists in northwest China's Shaanxi Province are about to open an ancient tomb dating back some two thousand years in the southern suburb of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi.

The tomb is marked as number 13 in the mausoleum complex. So far archeologists are in the final phase of the excavation, cleaning the passage leading to the tomb entrance.

Ding Yan, Captain of Archeological Team said "We'll reinforce the major frames of the tomb right after the cleaning is finished. When everything is done, we'll enter the tomb to carefully examine inside."

The tomb that's to be unveiled measures 29 meters in length and 2 meters in width. Experts say this grave, along with 13 other tombs of various sizes, belongs to the Western Han Dynasty minister Zhang Anshi. Unfortunately all of the other 13 have been plundered.

Zhang Zhongli, Deputy Director of Shaanxi Archeological Institute said "This is the hole that thieves dug, as you can see here. But this is not the only one. There are three altogether. This indicates the thieves were of different eras."

Although most of the Zhang's mausoleums were raided, still archeologists have found more than 2-thousand items during this excavation. Pieces include bronze wares, gold and silver wares, and a wealth of porcelains.

What's hidden inside the No.13 tomb in the complex remains to be seen.

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