Archaeologists in China discovered a 1,700-year-old cemetery along the old Silk Road in the northwest area of the country. The Silk Road is a series of ancient trade routes that once connected China to the Roman Empire.

The Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology first unearthed the ancient cemetery in 2007. Located at the city of Kucha, an ancient Buddhist kingdom, the cemetery revealed 10 well-preserved tombs archaeologists have dubbed "M3."

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Seven of these tombs turned out to be large brick structures with an entrance, a passage, a main burial chamber and a side chamber, according to archaeologists.

One tomb had carvings of mythical creatures. Four of the creatures represent different seasons and parts of the heavens: the White Tiger of the West, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the Black Turtle of the North, and the Azure Dragon of the East.

Zhiyong Yu, director of the Xinjiang Archaeological Institute and with his colleagues believe the tombs belonged to wealthy people. There tombs have no names and little original evidence remains to identify those interred because the graves have been looted.

Archaeologists analyzed the remaining skeletal remains and found some of the tombs were used multiple times. Some of the tombs contain over 10 occupants and the "repeated multiple burials warrant further study," researchers added.

"In ancient times, Kucha was called Qiuci in Chinese literature. It was a powerful city-state in the oasis of the Western Frontiers," Yu said.

The findings were published in Chinese in the journal, Wenwu. It was recently translated into English and published in the journal, Chinese Cultural Relics.

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