Entire Family Executed by First Female Emperor of China: Tomb Reveals Bloody Past

1,300 years ago Yan Shiwei was an honored magistrate dedicated to supporting the first (and only) female Emperor in Chinese history—until she had him and his family executed. His bones have now been found in the family tomb in Xi'an city, China.

The tomb, found within a cave, contained the remains of Yan Shiwei and Lady Pei, his wife. Inscriptions on bluestone epitaphs recount the turbulent lives of the deceased, telling of the rise and fall of Yan Shiwei.

According to LiveScience, archaeologists excavated the tomb in 2002 but the findings were not reported until 2014. Details have now been published by researchers from the Xi'an Municipal Institute of Archaeology and Conservation of Cultural Heritage in the English-language journal Chinese Cultural Relics.