2,000-year-old Xi'an tomb unearthed to study Western Han Dynasty

Chinese archaeologists have excavated a tomb built more than 2,000 years ago in the ancient capital of Xi'an to study the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 24).

The tomb was discovered in a southern suburb of the city, which is now the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, reports the China Daily.

Ding Yan, a research assistant of the Shaanxi provincial institute of archaeology and head of the tomb archaeological excavation site, said the tomb was the only one not robbed among the 14 tombs in the family cemetery of Western Han general Zhang Anshi (? - 62 BC).

"The tomb might be the tomb of Zhang Anshi's daughter-in-law," Ding said.

According to historical records, Zhang Anshi once assisted three emperors of the Western Han Dynasty in securing their rule. He had three sons, and his second son, Zhang Yanshou, was given a rank of nobility by the emperor.

Zhang Anshi's cemetery, which covers an area of nearly 61,600 sq m, was found in 2007 when the city developed an industrial park.