The chariot pit was used for the accessory burial of Guo Ji (M2001). The plane of the tomb is rectangular. It measures 47.6 meters long from south to north, 3.7-4.16 meters wide from east to west, and 1.1-1.4 meters deep. At present, the chariot pit is the largest one discovered in the Guo State's tombs. In addition to the chariots and horses destroyed by the modern tombs and ditches located above them, there remained in the pit 13 chariots, 64 horses and 6 dogs. The chariots were placed in the northern area of the pit and there were two horses lying under each chariot. Most of the horses were placed in the southern area. All the chariots were placed in order: the horses' heads faced the north while the bodies of the chariots towards the south. The chariots, wooden in quality and painted in black lacquer on the surface, belonged to the warring chariots. The horses were buried after being killed or poisoned. The burial dogs are probably the earliest substantial evidence for using dogs in the army. |
