A farmer in the northwest China province of Shaanxi recently unearthed in his own courtyard a bronze cooking vessel that was believed to date back nearly 3,000 years. The find, 80 centimeters tall, 55 kilograms in weight and with designs of "taotie" -- a mythical ferocious animal -- on its neck, was discovered in Wugong county on the outskirts of Xianyang city, close to the provincial capital Xi'an.
     Cultural heritage workers later unearthed stone axes, grinders,bricks, antlers, animal bones and pieces of pottery from Luo's courtyard, which experts believe was already a fixed abode for Chinese forefathers in the Western Zhou Dynasty (11 Century BCE -771 BCE) in the remote periods of history.
     In Changde city, central China's Hunan Province, archeologists have found at least five ancient tombs with a great deal of sacrificial objects inside. The tombs, discovered by construction workers, are around 2,000 years old, with the oldest dating back to the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BCE). According to experts, the tombs, which contain pottery pieces, bronze mirrors and other ritual objects buried with the deceased, belong to civilians.

Source: China View (4 June 2004)