An archaeologist brushes a terracotta warrior with reinforcing materials. [Photo/Xinhua]

A Northern Wei Dynasty tomb was discovered recently to the north of Yunbo Road, Datong city, and a stone coffin chamber is attracting a great deal of attention.

Shaped in an overhanging gable roof, the chamber has winding corridors, pillars at the front and a house frame to the rear, with terracotta warriors standing on both sides of the gate.

At the entrance of the tomb, there are tomb-guarding animals with a tiger-shaped therion on the left and a horse-bodied, human-headed therion on the right.

Over a dozen examples of painted pottery have been unearthed, including vivid models of yurt and ox carts, and terracotta musicians and acrobats.

“The ceramics, which have become dark from contact with oxygen, look gorgeous in the humid and oxygen-free chamber. We have to paint them with reinforcement materials to preserve their original color,” said a member of the Archaeological Institute of Datong.

As a noted historical and cultural city, Datong was the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534) for over a hundred years. Though epigraphs have not been found, the possessions of its owner are helpful for historical research.