About 1,800 years ago, at a time when China was breaking apart into three warring kingdoms, a warrior was laid to rest.

Buried in a tomb with domed roofs, along with his wife, he was about 45 years old when he died. Their skeletal remains were found inside two wooden coffins that had rotted away. Archaeologists don't know their names but, based on the tomb design and grave goods, they believe he was a general who had served one or more of the country's warring lords, perhaps Cao Cao and his son Cao Pi.

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The tomb also held a highly detailed glazed pottery model of a two-story mansion surrounded by an enclosing wall with a gateway. The gate has two main doors, each decorated with a door knocker ring and two "feathered" human figurines. Bear motifs were found in many decorations on the house.

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Yet another piece shows a beastly tomb guardian, his long tongue sticking out and, grossly enough, "a crawling animal is attached onto the tip of the tongue," Jiangsheng writes.

There's much more.

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While researchers do not know who this general was, or who he fought for, they believe from the artifacts and architecture found that he was laid to rest early in the Three Kingdoms period, which formally started in A.D. 220. Furthermore accounts by historians indicate that Xiangyang where he was buried occupied a strategic area that allowed armies access between northern and southern parts of the country.

Three Kingdoms' Tomb Holding Warrior Discovered