Scientists believe that a man was murdered in northwest China 1,300 years ago. To cover their tracks, they dumped the body in an old cemetery to hide their tracks.The young male was found in Shiyanzi cemetery in 2011. Excavations began there just a few years before.
The victim’s skeleton found in a tomb shaft that led directly to the final resting place of a family – a man, woman and child – and was initially thought to have been a grave robber who accidently died while stealing goods from the grave.
A team of scientists, led by Texas A&M University, determined the remains sat 14 feet above the floor of the burial chamber, which suggests he died a significant time after there was a grave robbery.
Researchers also note the fact that the man lived during Tang dynasty. This dynasty hanged or decapitated those found guilty of murder or assault causing serious injury.
Scientists believe that a man was murdered in northwest China 1,300 Years ago. The killers then dumped the body in an old cemetery to cover their tracks.
South China Morning Post reports that construction workers who were working on a pipeline through Ningxia discovered the Shiyanzi cemetery.
Excavations of the graveyard were started in 2009 during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and revealed 11 tombs.
Archaeologists began uncovering remains in each tomb until they discovered one with a skull inside a shaft high above the grave.
The three skeletons located in the main region were identified after a deeper examination. They were found to be related. The one in the shaft was not from this family and was 700 years older when he died. This was determined during a bone analysis.
The graveyard was built 2,000 year ago during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). Archaeologists began excavating the graveyard in 2009 and discovered 11 tombs. Each tomb was excavated by archaeologists until one had a skeleton inside it.
The victim’s skeleton was found inside a tomb shaft that led to the resting place of a family – a man, woman and child (Pictured are the remains of the original owners of the tomb)
Although it was thought that the young man fell into the shaft to steal the grave, experts say his body was not in the same area as the grave goods.
Following the bone analysis that revealed the date at which the man died, experts set out to discover how he died 1,300 years earlier.
There were 13 ‘V-shaped sharp-force marks’ on the skeleton, with the worst located on the face – but experts say they were not deep enough to have killed the man.
The man may have died from stab wounds to his spine that could have punctured vital organs such as his heart or lungs.
Researchers were able paint a picture after seeing marks on his head. These marks indicate that the man was being attacked while being turned away. This could indicate he was trying escape from his captors.
The skeleton contained 13 ‘V-shaped, sharp-force marks’. The worst was on the face. Experts say that they were not severe enough to have killed the man. The potentially fatal injuries were seen on the ribs. (h).
Below are scans showing the man’s skull and the wounds that he has.
Scientists believe that the shaft was dug by the killers, who then dropped the man inside and filled the hole before continuing on their journey.
According to the study’s researchers, “Through a reconstruction and relationship with the individual, it was thought that this individual had been the victim of an attack.”
Construction workers who were working on a pipeline through Ningxia discovered the Shiyanzi cemetery in 2002.
‘After the attack, the victim was dumped into this shaft to be kept secret. This case demonstrates that the strategy of concealing victims’ bodies in existing graveyards or tombs to dispose of them, similar to hiding a leaf in a forest, has been practiced since antiquity.
The study was published in Archaeological and Anthropological Studies.