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46.

[[underlined]] Chapter III. [[/underlined]]

[[underlined]] Position of the Bronzes. [[/underlined]]
   Our informants all agreed that no bronzes had been found in the area north of the skull seen on our previous visit and which seemed beyond much doubt to be that of the principal figure in the interment. Moreover our subsequent inspections of the collection, both at the yamên in Chêng Chou and again after its removal to the provincial capital, K'ai-fêng, disclosed no additions to the number of those that we had seen on our first visit to the yamên, on Sept. 7th. Yet certain ones which we then saw were said later to have been discovered in portions of the site not yet excavated at that time. Such statements are therefore at least open to question. As much may also be said of [[margin]] ^[[?]] [[/margin]] others, both verbal and published, to the effect that the [[strikethrough]] grave-goods [[/strikethrough]] ^[[ bronzes]] were found arranged in an ellipse about the body. If that part of the site north of the latter yielded any additional bronzes, these must somehow have failed of inclusion among those already recovered.
  The bronzes about which we could obtain any definite information all seem to have been found grouped together a short distance south of the body. This may imply that they had been placed not in the tomb-chamber itself but in some sort of antechamber; regarding this point, on account of the extensive unsystematic digging which had already been done, we could reach no conclusion. All the objects appear to have been found within about the fourth meter below the existing surface but at somewhat different levels. A possible explanation of the latter point may be that they had originally been placed on wooden stands, or perhaps less probably earthen ledges, of varying heights, traces of whose former existence the workmen had overlooked. One particularly intelligent lad told us that in several instances vessels similar in type but of graduated sizes had stood one upon another,