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The largest excavation project to date in the Western Xia Mausoleums, which kicked off in 2000, has done some initial work in the uncovering of architectural structures referred to as the "pyramids of the East," in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Archaeologists have restored a red pottery "miaoyin bird." A legendary figue in Buddhism. [China Daily]

Seven kinds of architectural components, made of grey, red and glazed pottery, were unearthed in the excavation of the No 3 Mausoleum.

They were in the shape of Kalaviuka in Sanskrit (a half-man, half-bird image in Buddhism), animals, sea-lions, sea-goats, lotus seats, owl's beaks and pagodas.

"Because of wind-erosion and collapsed sections, we cannot see the original shape of the No 3 Mausoleum. But the component parts, which were buried in the section that collapsed, were distributed evenly and thus offer important clues to the structure of the mausoleum," said Du Yubing, deputy director of the Ningxia Institute of Archaeological Research.

The mausoleums from the mythical kingdom lie about 35 kilometres west of downtown Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, in the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains.

Covering about 50 square kilometres, they were where the 10 successive kings of the Western Xia were buried after holding together a kingdom for 189 years between the 11th and 12th century.

The kings' resting places, as well as a large number of ancient books, records and cultural relics, were destroyed in fires lit by Mongolian soldiers after they conquered the kingdom.

Today where the impressive glazed mausoleums once stood, we can see only nine giant cone-shaped mounds made of loess soil rising from the flatland.

A Western Xia mausoleum was actually a complex architectural structure with corner terraces, watch-towers, a pavilion with stone tablets, an outer city, an inner city, a grand gate, a sacrificial hall and a burial pagoda, said Du.

From the distribution of unearthed component parts, archaeologists have determined the locations of the different buildings of the No 3 Mausoleum. They are expecting further important discoveries at the sites.

The excavation of the Western Xia Mausoleums was initiated in the 1970s. Besides work on the No 3 Mausoleum, archaeologists have also done some initial excavation work on the Nos 5, 6 and 7 Mausoleums and some sacrificial pits.

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