Asitanna Gumuqu(Astana Graves)
These graves, where the dead of Gaochang are buried, lie north-west of the ancient city. Only three of the tombs are open to tourists, and each of these is approached by a short flight of steps that lead down to the burial chamber about 6km below ground level.
One tomb contains portraits of the deceased painted on the walls, while another has paintings of birds. The third tomb holds two well-preserved corpses like those in the museums at Urumqi and Hangzhou(one mummy from the original trio seems to have been removed to Turpan¡¯s museum ).
Some of the artifacts date back as far as the Jin dynasty, from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD. The finds include silks, brocades, embroideries and many funerary objects, such as shoes, hats and sashes made of recycled paper. The last turned out ot the quite special for archaeologists, since the paper included deeds, records of slave purchases, orders for silk and other everyday transactions.
