This was the largest number of bamboo slips ever found in the ancient tombs belonging to the Chu State which dates back to the Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC), said Wang Hongxing, director of the provincial archeological institute.

The bamboo slips are in a sound condition though black with blurred writing and as soft as boiled noodles after being submerged in muddy water for a long time.

Scientists immediately sealed them with special plastic film and delivered them to experts in Wuhan, capital of the province, for better preservation.

Bamboo slips usually provide information more directly than other cultural relics since the ancient Chinese wrote their records on the slips. Some list the funerary items and some hold writings on astronomy, geography, music or divination, said Yin Weizhang, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

They would either verify current historical records or correct them, or even provide new information on politics, economics, culture, art or religion, Yin said.

Also found in the No. 2 tomb are some 500 cultural relics including musical instruments, household articles, and wooden sacrificial vessels.

It is just one of nine tombs extending south-north on a hill 21km to the southeast of Zaoyang City. Archeologists finished excavations in the No. 1 tomb on Dec. 23, which yielded 696 cultural relics.

(People?s Daily December 26, 2002)