Among the most impressive artifacts found in the tomb is a black, gold, and blood-red sword inscribed with pictures of dragons. Xu described it as “the most beautiful and best-preserved sword ever found in this part of China.”

Also discovered among the dead were gold and bronze artifacts, along with elaborate silk gowns.

But the most startling discovery was that “most of those buried had been sacrificed to accompany their master into the afterlife,” said Xu, a scholar at the Archaeology Institute of Jiangxi.

via National Geographic