Chawuhu Ancient Tombs

Chawuhu Ancient Tombs

The Chawuhu Ancient Tombs are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Chawuhu Valley Tomb Cluster, also known as the "Harmudun Ancient Tombs," is located at the mouth of the Chawuhu Valley in the Tianshan Mountains, about 30 kilometers west of Hejing County, within North Harmudun Township of Hejing County. This tomb cluster is large in scale, with roughly two thousand tombs distributed across a 10-square-kilometer area, making it the largest known clan communal burial ground in Xinjiang. The tombs are densely arranged, well-ordered, and sizable, characterized by stone enclosures, flexed burials, and painted pottery with spouts. The tomb forms, artifacts, and cultural content show clear regional traits, leading to the classification of this culture as the "Chawuhu Culture." Except for Tomb No. 3, which dates to the early Eastern Han Dynasty, most others were constructed between 1000 and 500 BCE. The name "Chawuhu" means "Cliff Valley" in Mongolian.

The Chawuhu Ancient Tombs primarily consist of Tomb Sites 1 through 8, which are densely distributed, neatly arranged, distinctly featured, and grand in scale. The surface has almost no vegetation, consisting of gravel layers typical of Gobi terrain.

There are three types of surface markers at the Chawuhu Valley Tomb Cluster: one is a large circular enclosure made of big cobbles; another is a circular pile of large stones; and the third is a smaller pile of stones enclosed within a larger stone ring. Most of the interred individuals are youths and middle-aged adults. Around the edges of the stone enclosures, there are child burials, horse head pits, and cattle head pits. Child burials share similar burial methods with adults, each containing one to dozens of individuals. Horse and cattle head pits contain the skulls of these animals, along with leg bones. Most of the tombs are vertical shaft stone chambers, sealed with large stone slabs. Many feature multiple secondary burials.

Among the unearthed funerary objects, bronze items include knives, arrowheads, spears, plaques, horse bits, rings, needles, and awls; iron artifacts consist of fragments of iron cauldrons and rings; stone tools are relatively numerous and include whetstones, awls, beads, and spinning wheels; bone artifacts comprise spinning wheels, arrowheads, and tubular beads; wooden items include trays, spoons, spinning wheels, and arrows, all found in significant quantities. Among these, pottery artifacts are the most abundant, especially painted pottery, which is distinctive for its network patterns, geometric designs, triangular motifs, and vertical stripes. Over 5,000 artifacts have been excavated. The tombs mainly date from around 3000 years ago to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Tomb Site 1 is situated on a mountain-front terrace about 2.5 kilometers southwest of the Chawuhu Valley mouth. The southern edge of the terrace connects with the Gobi alluvial plain. The terrace is roughly rectangular, extending 250 meters from north to south and 50 meters from east to west. It houses approximately 700 tombs. Surface features: the tombs are densely packed and closely arranged, all enclosed by stone enclosures that are mostly intact, predominantly arc-waisted triangles. These are mainly concentrated in the southern and central parts of the site, with their pointed ends often facing northwest or north. In the northern part of the site, there are circular and oval-shaped stone enclosures, some with small stone piles inside, and a few standalone stone piles without enclosures. Tomb chamber structure: all are vertical shaft stone chambers. From south to north, the tombs evolve through styles AⅠ, AⅡ, AⅢ, and AⅣ, with AⅢ being the most common. Some have stone (or wooden) lids and burial containers. Burial customs and practices: most are joint burials, accounting for about four-fifths; there are also a few single burials. Secondary burials are common, coexisting with primary burials. Most remains are supine or laterally flexed, with heads facing west or northwest. In the northern part of the site, there are horse head pits and child burial pits. Grave goods: pottery is predominant, mostly hand-made coarse red pottery, undecorated, utilitarian, and usually flat-bottomed. Spouted pottery is popular, making up about two-fifths of the pottery finds, with spouted cups and jars being the most common. Painted pottery is well-developed, featuring oblique bands, full-body designs, and neck banding, with intricate patterns including grids, triangles, zigzags, and meanders. In later periods, painted pottery declines, and there are more small bronze items, with increasing presence of ironware.

Tomb Site 2 is located about 3 kilometers south of the Chawuhu Valley mouth, adjacent to short, continuous mountain-front terraces. To the south of the terraces lies a vast expanse of Gobi gravel alluvium stretching toward the oasis. It contains approximately 100 tombs. Surface features: the surface features circular or oval stone enclosures. Tomb chamber structure: all are vertical shaft stone chambers, with styles AⅡ, AⅢ, and AⅣ present, but not AⅠ, and lids are rare. Burial customs and practices: joint burials dominate, making up four-fifths; there are a few single burials. Secondary burials are common, coexisting with primary burials. Most remains are supine or laterally flexed, with heads facing west or northwest. In the northern part of the site, there are horse head pits and child burial pits. Grave goods: spouted pottery decreases, painted pottery declines; small bronze items are more common; ironware becomes significantly more prevalent.

Tomb Site 3 is situated on two yellow-earth terraces at the junction between the mountain-front gravel-alluvial plain and the oasis, southwest of the Chawuhu Valley mouth. It is roughly long-oval in shape, 200 meters long and 65 meters wide. It lies about 1 kilometer north of Tomb Site 1. It contains about 255 tombs. Surface features: the surface has stone piles but no stone enclosures. Tomb chamber structure: these are mostly vertical earthen pit tombs and vertical earthen pit side-chamber tombs. Burial customs and practices: most are single burials, with primary burials being the norm, typically supine and extended, with heads facing east. There are no horse head pits or child burial pits. Grave goods: pottery is scarce, with no painted pottery; there are many small bronze items; ironware is commonly found.

Tomb Site 4 is located on a terrace on the northern side of the Chawuhu Valley mouth. It is bordered by the Tianshan Mountains to the east and north, the dry riverbed of the Chawuhu Valley to the west, and the gravel-alluvial plain to the south. The terrace is higher in the north and lower in the south, roughly rectangular and oriented northwest to southeast, measuring about 165 meters from north to south and 65–80 meters from east to west. Surface features: the tombs are densely packed and neatly arranged, all enclosed by stone enclosures that are mostly intact, predominantly arc-waisted triangles, mainly concentrated in the southern and central parts of the site, with pointed ends often facing northwest or north. In the northern part of the site, there are circular and oval stone enclosures, some with small stone piles inside, and a few standalone stone piles without enclosures. Tomb chamber structure: all are vertical shaft stone chambers. From south to north, the tombs evolve through styles AⅠ, AⅡ, AⅢ, and AⅣ, with stone (or wooden) lids and burial containers. Burial customs and practices: joint burials dominate, making up four-fifths; there are a few single burials. Secondary burials are common, coexisting with primary burials. Most remains are supine or laterally flexed, with heads facing west or northwest. In the northern part of the site, there are horse head pits and child burial pits. Grave goods: pottery is predominant, mostly coarse red pottery, hand-made, undecorated, utilitarian, and usually flat-bottomed. Spouted pottery is common, making up about two-fifths of the pottery finds, with spouted cups and jars being the most frequent. Painted pottery is well-developed, featuring oblique bands, full-body designs, and neck banding, with intricate patterns including grids, triangles, zigzags, and meanders. In later periods, painted pottery declines, and there are more small bronze items, with occasional ironware.

Tomb Site 5 is located inside the Chawuhu Valley, on a terrace southwest of the valley, about 2 kilometers south of the valley mouth. The terrace is connected to the main body of the Tianshan Mountains to the west. The terrace is irregularly shaped, 95 meters long and 50–70 meters wide. It contains about 150 tombs. Surface features: the tombs are densely packed and all enclosed by stone enclosures, though many are incomplete and crude. Intact ones are mostly arc-corner triangles but irregular. Tomb chamber structure: all are stone pit tombs, all of style AI, with stone (or wooden) lids but no burial containers. Burial customs and practices: most are single burials, with a few joint burials. Primary burials are common, coexisting with secondary burials. Most remains are supine and flexed, with a few lateral flexions, and heads facing west or northwest. Grave goods: pottery is predominant, mostly coarse red pottery, hand-made, undecorated, with occasional painted pottery. Spouted pottery is relatively common, including spouted jars, pots, and cups. There are a few small bronze items, but no ironware.

On June 25, 2001, the Chawuhu Ancient Tombs, as a valuable cultural relic from the Bronze Age to the Spring and Autumn period, were approved by the State Council to be included in the fifth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units