Ancient site · Tomb
Mawangdui
Mawangdui, in Changsha, Hunan, held three Western Han tombs of the family of Li Cang, chancellor of the Changsha Kingdom, who died in 186 BCE; his son was buried in 168 BCE. Excavated in 1972–1974, they were sealed so well that Li Cang's wife, Xin Zhui (Lady Dai), was found with her body remarkably preserved, together with silk clothes, lacquerware and food.
A painted silk banner shows the heavens, earth and underworld. Tomb 3 held a trove of manuscripts on silk, including a copy of the Daodejing, military, medical and astronomical texts, and early maps.
- Dates
- burials c. 186–160s BCE
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- Location
- 28.21° N, 113.02° E
How we know
Seals and silk manuscripts buried in the tombs name their owners, so the tombs are known from their own writing as well as excavation.
Nearby sites
- Pengtoushan c. 7500–6100 BCE
- Xianrendong Cave pottery c. 18,000 BCE (20,000–19,000 years ago); used to c. 8000 BCE
- Jiahu c. 7000–5700 BCE
- Shangshan c. 9400–6600 BCE (11,400–8600 cal BP)
- Peiligang c. 7000–5000 BCE (Peiligang culture)
- Liangzhu City c. 3300–2300 BCE