Secrets of ancient Chinese tombs
HistoryExtra podcast
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The Importance of Chariots in the Afterlife
The tombs of the Shang dynasty are never excavated but they reveal a lot about their members. One man is buried with ritual vessels and weapons that show he was highly regarded by his court. He must have been an outsider who moved into the region several generations earlier to look after horses and run chariots because China's too hot, humid and lacks certain nutrition in the soil. And do we know what would happen to these tombs after someone was buried in them? Would they be at risk of being looted or would they just be preserved intact and left alone?
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