Zhagunluke Ancient Graves

Zhagunluke Ancient Graves

Discovered in 1930 in a small county located 10 kilometers west from Qiemo city, this imperial grave is 100 meters long and an amazing 750 meters wide, the entire grave site covering an area of several kilometers has hundreds of graves without coffins, including several mass-graves and single graves. Because of the dry, arid climate not only are the bodies well preserved, the implements buried with the bodies like wool, wood staffs and jewelry are equally well preserved allowing scientists and historians to develop a firm understanding of the ancient culture of the Xinjiang region. Based on carbon dating it has been established that the grave is from 1000BC and in 1990 was declared a protected cultural heritage zone.