Archaeologists discovered a mural depicting a blue monster, a winged horse, a nude deity known as the master of wind, and other motifs in an ancient, 1400-year-old tomb, located in modern-day Xinzhou city, central China.

The tomb was discovered in 2013, but the report was translated to English and published in “Chinese Archaeology” only recently, after being published in 2015 in journal “Kaogu“. The tomb was found heavily looted, with the bodies of the tomb occupants missing and only a few coffin fragments remaining. Parts of a passageway and corridor had not been robbed and a number of artefacts, as well as many well-preserved murals, remained untouched.

According to the researchers the diversity of the motifs is unique and cannot be found in other tombs from same period. The meaning of some of the imagery is not fully understood.

(after Live Science & Chinese Archaeology)