Credit Qian Wang
In 2002 an ancient cemetery was discovered in the Ningxia region of Northern China. 12 tombs would be excavated. The last one was M12, which featured an 18m2 burial chamber containing the remains of a man, a woman, and a child. The tomb was of a high-ranking family from 2,000 years before as they were buried with many grave goods, and of course, many of the goods were eventually robbed.
The family however were not the only people buried at the tomb. A skeleton of a man in his 20's was found halfway down a looter's shaft. It was at first believed that the man was a looter who fell into the shaft and died. However, it was found that he was likely not a looter, and his death was not accidental.
The man had died between 640 to 680 AD and the family died around 700 years earlier. The looter's shaft had naturally filled in before his death. He had been slashed at and stabbed. He had 13 sharp force wounds on his bones, He had cut marks on the top of his head, the back of his skull, and ribs. The right side of his face was almost cut off. It's believed that the puncture in the ribs is what killed him.
It's believed that after or during the brutal attack, he was thrown into the looter shaft, and was likely still alive. His right hand is still raised in a protective gesture over the right side of his face. A sword blade was found above him and may have been the or one of the murder weapons.
Buring his body may have done it in a way of "hiding in plain sight" type of concealment.
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