The Yejiashan Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Suizhou City, Hubei

Abstract

In February through June 2011, Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Suizhou Museum excavated Yejiashan Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The excavation uncovered areas of 3700sq m in total, from which 65 tombs and one horse pit were recovered and over 700 pieces (or sets) of artifacts including bronzes, potteries, proto-porcelain wares and jades were unearthed. Some bronzes bore inscriptions of “Zeng 曾”, “Hou 侯 (marquis)”, “Zeng Hou 曾侯 (Marquis of Zeng)”, “Zeng Hou Jian 曾侯谏 (Marquis of Zeng named Jian)” and so on. The styles of the grave goods and the inscriptions on the bronzes showed that this cemetery was the family cemetery of the Marquis of Zeng in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. The excavation of the Yejiashan Cemetery has academic significances for the researches on the relationships between the Zeng and E States and Zeng and Chu States to the east of the Han River in the early Western Zhou Dynasty.