The Summer Resonance Pao Noble Tombs of the E State

The Summer Resonance Pao Noble Tombs of the E State

The Summer Resonance Pao Noble Tombs of the E State is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Summer Resonance Pao Noble Tombs of the E State are located on a north-south high ridge on the east bank of the Baihe River, 10 kilometers northeast of Nanyang city center, 3 kilometers north of the Xindian Township government, and 1.5 kilometers west of the Baihe River. They lie within the main channel of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, about 500 meters north of Xiayingpu Village, Xindian Township, Nanyang New District. The archaeological team at the Xiayingpu tombs conducted cultural relic surveys around burial M1 and discovered 19 ancient tombs and one pit within the channel. To date, a total of 20 ancient tombs have been excavated, yielding a large number of precious artifacts including bronze ware, pottery, jade artifacts, and lacquered wooden objects. The excavation covered an area of over 2,800 square meters. Cultural relic surveys were also carried out outside the channel. Due to the completed embankments of the South-to-North Water Diversion channel and the presence of access roads and sand and gravel yards outside the southern embankment, surveys were limited to the area outside the material yard, identifying over 30 ancient tombs, while no surveys have been conducted outside the northern embankment yet.

A total of 20 tombs have been discovered at the Summer Resonance Pao Noble Tombs of the E State, arranged in three rows—south, middle, and north—within the channel. All are vertical earthen pit tombs with a north-south orientation. There are two large tombs (each longer than 5 meters and wider than 4 meters): M1 and M6 both have well-preserved wooden coffins and outer coffins, surrounded by a 0.80–1.0 meter thick layer of blue clay, with a second-level terrace around the blue clay. The depth from tomb mouth to tomb bottom exceeds 8 meters. There are eight medium-sized tombs (each approximately 4 meters in length and width): M2, M3, M4, M5, M7, M16, M19, and M20 all show traces of decayed wooden coffins and outer coffins, with layers of blue clay and second-level terraces. There are ten small tombs (each less than 2 meters in length and width), arranged in a row on the northern embankment of the main channel to the north of M1. The southern end has been damaged, with no clear funerary objects or only one pottery item.

The discovery and excavation of the Summer Resonance Pao Noble Tombs of the E State hold significant academic importance: 1. It changes traditional understanding of the E State and its history. Bronze ware unearthed from tombs M1, M5, M6, M16, M19, and M20 bear inscriptions such as “Marquis of E,” “Consort of the Marquis of E,” and “E.” Considering the size, structure, and layout of the tombs, M1 is identified as the tomb of the Marquis of E’s consort, M5 and M6 as joint burials of a couple in separate pits, M7 and M16 as another couple's joint burial, and M19 and M20 as yet another. This indicates that at least four generations of the E State marquises were buried here, providing invaluable physical evidence for studying the location and history of the E State from the late Western Zhou to the early Spring and Autumn period, as well as the relationships between ancient states such as E, Yang, and Ruo. 2. It represents a major breakthrough in the study of the E State from the late Western Zhou to the early Spring and Autumn period. According to inscriptions on the “Marquis of E Yu Fang Ding” and “Li Ding,” the E State was destroyed by the Zhou king during the mid-to-late Western Zhou. To fill the strategic need for southern border defense after the E State’s demise, the Zhou king enfeoffed two of his uncles in Nanyang, establishing the states of Shen and Lü. The findings at the Summer Resonance Pao Noble Tombs suggest that the E State continued to exist in Nanyang during the late Western Zhou to early Spring and Autumn period, likely as the Zhou relocated the E royal family within their sphere of control. 3. It is preliminarily determined that M5 and M6 are the earliest tombs within the site, dating back to the late period of the late Western Zhou. Given the gap in time between the destruction of the E State in the mid-to-late Western Zhou and the period of M5 and M6, further archaeological excavations are expected to yield important insights into this transitional phase. 4. The Summer Resonance Pao Noble Tombs of the E State represent the first discovery of a high-ranking noble cemetery in Nanyang, with specifications and scale unprecedented in the Nanyang Basin, making it highly significant for the study of Nanyang’s history during the Zhou Dynasty.

Source: Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology