Ancient tomb unearthed in N China's Shanxi

TAIYUAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A tomb of a noble female from the late Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C.-476 B.C.) has been excavated at the Taosibei cemetery site in Xiangfen county of north China's Shanxi Province.

The owner of the tomb was a pregnant woman aged in her 30s, with the bones of an 8-month fetus found in her womb, the Shanxi provincial institute of archaeology announced Tuesday.

From March 2016 to January 2017, Chinese archaeologists unearthed five tombs dating back to the Period during the excavation at the Taosibei cemetery site.

Two of the five tombs belonged to two upper-class women. "The two tombs were relatively intact and typical stone tombs. It's very rare that the bones could be well preserved after being buried at a depth of nearly 10 meters," said Wang Jingyan, an associate researcher with the institute.

Archaeologists said the rich items unearthed at the Taosibei cemetery site have provided valuable materials for the study of the history of Jin State, an ancient kingdom of the Spring and Autumn Period.