Initial studies revealed that the whole tomb site probably dates back to the early years of the State of Yue, around 496 BC when the immortalized King Goujian took the throne.

In history, the State of Yue, a small state occupying the area of what is now Jiangsu and part of Zhejiang, existed for a little over than 200 years. Experts now conclude the findings mark the most important archaeological discovery concerning the State of Yue to date, with abundant relics of the highest grade, best texture, and most complete varieties.

However, the excavation itself has been full of surprises.

The site was part of a proposed development zone by the local Hongshan Township. The tombs might have been crushed to pieces by bulldozers or submerged by high-rise buildings and mansions forever if not for the timely rescue efforts.

When the expert team began work on what they believed to be the largest tomb of the seven, which indicated its owner might have held supreme power during the ancient State of Yue, they stumbled upon a hole as big as a circular table in the tomb. As they dug deeper, the hole caved in to become even bigger, suggesting that tomb raiders had already ransacked the tomb.

To the team's great joy, it turned out that except for the middle chamber in the tomb proper that was looted, the front and rear chambers were left intact.

From this largest tomb alone, researchers unearthed some 1,100 relics, including complete sets of jade and porcelain ritual ware and musical instruments such as porcelain chimes, which are unparalleled in their exquisiteness and which mainly have totem snake ornaments.

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