ANCIENT musical instruments were unearthed from a complex of tombs possibly dating back thousands of years in Zaoyang City in Central China’s Hubei Province on Monday.

    Chinese archaeologists excavated an ancient stringed instrument known as a “se” and a frame to hold chime bells among other cultural relics from the grave, which is about 1,500 meters long and 800 meters wide.

    The stringed instrument could be the oldest musical instrument to have ever been found in China, said the archaeologists at site.

    The excavators said the relics would help in the study of Chinese musical development from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771B.C.) to the Warring States Period (476-221 B.C.).

    Large pits for chariots, horses, and weapons have also been discovered, which challenges previous opinions about the Zeng State (771 to 476 B.C.) in ancient China, Fang Qing told Chutian Metro Daily.

    Fang, director of the Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute of Hubei Province, said that the relics prove that Zeng State was a large power rather than an insignificant one.

    More mysteries about Zeng State are expected to be unearthed, said Fang.

    (Xinhua)