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January 10, 2018

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Bed fit for a king restored after 17 years

Source: Xinhua | 00:01 UTC+8 January 10, 2018 | Print Edition

AFTER 17 years of effort, archeologists in southwest China’s Sichuan Province said on Monday they have restored a “dragon bed” believed to be used by an ancient king 2,500 years ago.

The bed, 2.55 meters long, 1.3m wide and 1.8m tall, is the oldest and the best-preserved lacquered bed unearthed in China, said Yang Tao of Chengdu Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute.

Featuring cinnabar dragon patterns on the side, the bed consists of 45 parts, with the largest 3.2m long and the smallest 20cm. All components are connected by mortise and tenon joints.

The bed was unearthed in 2000 in a tomb complex discovered in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan. “Parts of the bed were scattered in a number of boat-shaped coffins at the time of the discovery, and it took archeologists and their staff 17 years to restore the bed to its original form to the best of their ability,” said Xiao Lin, who heads the restoration department of the institute.

Based on its structure and patterns, the bed is very likely to have been used by an ancient king of Shu State, who ruled the region 2,500 years ago,” said Yan Jinsong, an archeologist who headed the excavation work of the tomb complex.

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