Astana Graves

Astana Cemetery

A view of the Astana Cemetery
Location of Astana Show map of Xinjiang Location of Astana Show map of China
Location	China
Region	Xinjiang
Coordinates	42°52′55″N 89°31′44″E / 42.882°N 89.529°E / 42.882; 89.529

The Astana Cemetery (Chinese: 阿斯塔那古墓; pinyin: Āsītǎnà Gǔmù) is an ancient cemetery 37 kilometres (23 mi) southeast of Turpan, in Xinjiang, China, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the ancient city of Gaochang. It served mainly as the cemetery for the descendants of Chinese settlers in Gaochang from the 4th century to the first half of the 8th century. The complex covers 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) and contains over 1,000 tombs. Due to the arid environment many important artifacts have been well preserved at the tombs, including natural mummies.

The tombs consist of sloping passageways leading downwards for 4 or 5m to a rockcut entrance, about a metre wide and over a metre high. A step then leads into a brick-lined chamber, square or oblong and measuring between two and four metres wide, three to four metres long and up to two metres high. Some tombs contain one or two narrow antechambers in which there are niches on either side for guardian beasts. These figures show a variety of animal features and some have human faces. In their exuberance they resemble the clay statues of Guardian Kings similarly found at the entrance to Buddhist temples.

The body or bodies were shrouded in textiles. A silver oval shaped eye-mask and an oval piece of silk covered the face. Sometimes coins were used instead of these eye-masks. The origin of placing a coin inside the mouth is unclear: Stein saw parallels with the Greek custom of providing the deceased with the fare for the ferryman of Hades, but Chinese scholars have argued the same custom is seen in Chinese burials from the first millennium BC. The coins included Byzantine, locally minted replica Byzantine, other locally minted replica Chinese coins and Chinese coins.

The bodies were originally placed inside wooden coffins, propped up with bundles of paper, and with small articles of personal use and models of garments made from paper and silk — such as shoes and hats — placed alongside them. Other offerings were placed inside wooden or pottery vessels near the head of the coffin on a wooden pedestal. Many of the vessels were painted with a distinctive pattern of white dots and red lines. Remains of food, desiccated but identifiable, were found in some of the unrobbed tombs and included grapes, plums, pears, pieces of meat and wheat. Several tombs contained well-preserved pastries, including a jam tart.