Located in Jingling in northern
Luoyang City of Henan Province, the Museum of Ancient Tombs in Luoyang takes up
an area of 3 hectares and was opened to the public in April 1987.
The museum has two parts -- above ground and
underground. Above the ground, there is a Han-style arch, the entrance hall and
two exhibition halls respectively on the east and west. In the eastern hall,
models of tombs from the primitive society to the Zhou Dynasty (11th century
-256BC), restored funerary objects, and funeral rituals are on display. The
western part houses the exhibition halls, in which excavated artifacts and
relics are displayed.
The tomb groups are seven meters
underground. Underground there are exhibition halls of cultural relics from the
Han, Wei & Jin, Tang & Song dynasties, and an exhibition hall of refined
artworks. The exhibition hall of refined artworks displays typical artworks of
the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and facsimiles of murals on the tomb chambers.
Now, this museum has 22 restored ancient
tombs dating from the Han dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127),
including 10 Han tombs, 2 Tang (618-907) tombs and 5 Song tombs. Many colorful
murals have been restored and pottery pieces and other relics excavated from the
tombs are also on display.