A mural tomb of the Northern Dynasties at Jiuyuangang in Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province

Abstract In 2013 to 2014, Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology excavated a large-sized mural tomb at Jiyuangang in Xinzhou City. It was a brick single-chamber tomb facing south and consisting of the mound on the ground, ramp passage, corridor and the tomb chamber, the full length of which was more than 40m. On the walls of the passage, corridor and tomb chamber, large areas of murals were painted, that of which on the two side walls of the passage were painted into four registers from top to bottom. It is preliminarily inferred that the date of this tomb is the Eastern Wei to the early Northern Qi Dynasties, and the position of its occupant was prominent and glorious, who would be an important role in the ruling group at that time. The murals of this tomb had diversified motifs and rich connotations, many of which cannot be found in other tombs of the same period; they provided valuable materials for the researches on the history, culture, social life and military systems of the Northern Dynasties Period.