Destruction of Hasanlu in northwest Iran

 The site of Hasanlu was extensively excavated from 1957–77 as part of a general investigation into the archaeology of the Ushnu-Solduz Valley in northwestern Iran, a joint venture of the Penn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, and the Archaeological Service of Iran. The site has deposits dating back some 8,000 years to Neolithic times, however, the Iron Age levels, beginning around 1250 BCE, are the best understood.

The settlement portion of Hasanlu was dramatically destroyed (ca. 800 BCE) leaving a burned and body-strewn destruction level. The conflagration is thought to have happened in late summer based on plant remains. The people who remained in the buildings on the High Mound, including women and children, were completely wiped out by violence and fire. Most seem to have been left where they were killed in the streets and in buildings, which then collapsed on their bodies because of the fire. The people who remained at Hasanlu did have weapons and horses at their disposal. Large collections of various types of weapons were found in several of the buildings, possibly in storage areas. However, the bodies strewn all over the city indicate that the end was swift and violent.  This is the site where the famous Hasanlu Lovers, a pair of skeletons in a bin of plaster-covered mudbrick in 1972 were found. The two lie facing each other with one reaching out with its right hand to touch the face of the other.

Read more about this fascinating site here:

https://www.penn.museum/collections/highlights/physicalanthro/the-lovers.php

Image: Kohl box in the shape of an elongated figure wearing a helmet (?) and cape (?), Hasanlu Period IV Bronze (ca. 800 BCE). The body expands outward to a flat base supported by four human-shod feet although one is missing.  Image courtesy of the Penn Museum.

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New Museum to Showcase Jin War Chariots

With all of the spectacular archaeological finds made in China since the 1980s it is difficult to choose the most important - and the finds just keep multiplying each year. I have been fortunate to have seen a traveling exhibit of the terracotta warriors and hope to see them in situ one day. Now it looks like I need to plan to include this new museum showcasing the fabulous Jin war chariots of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1120-781 BC), like the one shown here, in my itinerary!

[Image - life-size model of a Zhou Dynasty "4 Horses 3 men" War Chariot in the China's People's Revolutionary Military Musuem in Beijing]

In the remote village of Yangshe on the banks of the Yellow River, Chinese archaeologists are little by little bringing an ancient culture back to life after nearly 3,000 years. The vast cemetery they are excavating belonged to the rulers of the Jin state, which is finally emerging in all its remarkable diversity in what is now northern China's Shanxi Province. It is a discovery that in most countries would excite the entire scholarly community, but in China it is just one in a string of startling finds.

At the Yangshe dig, the outstanding feature is a large pit containing 48 chariots and 105 horses that were buried with a Jin ruler particularly noted for his military campaigns during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1120-781 BC).

The find is the largest horse and chariot pit dating from the Shang and Zhou dynasties (1600-256 BC) so far found in China and predates the terracotta warrior tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang, by more than 600 years, Ji said.

Among the finds are ceremonial carriages exquisitely painted with red lacquer and which include finely crafted doors with bronze hinges. Armoured war carriages protected by bronze plates are also among the finds.

"We believe the chariots and horses were the actual cavalry used in the military campaigns of the Jin leader," Ji said. "So far we have counted at least 105 horses, which we believe were drugged and buried alive as some of their heads were erect and others had their legs bound," he added.

The state of Jin existed as part of the Zhou Dynasty, which was divided into western and eastern periods.

The Jin cemetery was first discovered in 1992, but funding for major excavations only began in 1996.

Since then all 19 tombs have been excavated with the dig of the largest horse and chariot pit alone taking four years, Ji said.

Coinciding with the discoveries, archaeologists in China are seeing funding on a scale they could only have dreamt of a few years ago. "The Museum of the State of Jin, which begins construction in March, will sit on top of the horse and chariot pit and is expected to be opened by 2010," he said.

The 100-million-yuan (13-million-dollar) museum will house a treasure trove of bronze and jade artifacts from all 19 tombs of the early Jin rulers and their wives.

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