China Shows 1000 BC Bronze Chariot Buried with Horses

This bronze chariot estimated to be up to 3,000 years old has been partially restored during a three-year project.

News of the restoration was announced by the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology in the city of Xi’an in the central Chinese province of Shaanxi who said that the ancient chariot was from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC). (https://bit.ly/31own0Y)

It was unearthed in 2014 at the Zhouyuan site in northwestern Shaanxi after being buried seemingly together with the four horses that would have pulled it when it was in use during a time of Civil War and turmoil in China.

The bronze chariot is 3.13 metres (10.2 feet) long, 2.7 metres (8.8 feet) wide, and 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) high and the weight of the earth had crushed the ancient vehicle into thousands of pieces.

These included 400 bronze fittings many of which are inlaid with turquoise and the outer edges of the wheels were also made of bronze.

The fact that the remains showed little signs of having been used at the time indicates it was probably a ceremonial rather than fighting vehicle and was probably owned by a king, and then possibly buried with him when he died.

The skeletal remains of the horses were at the front of the chariot.

The institute’s spokesman Wang Zhankui said that the restoration project on the chariot “had provided invaluable research on some of the customs and the hierarchy of the late Western Zhou Dynasty”.

The place where it was found was formally believed to have been the home of Duke Danfu who was one of the early Zhou clan leaders.


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Story By: James KingSub-EditorAlex Cope, Agency: Real Press

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