The Hanging Coffins of the Bo
On sheer cliffs in southern China, wooden coffins rest on wooden stakes high above the ground. How they were put there is still debated.
What was reported
In Gong County in Sichuan, wooden coffins sit on beams driven into the face of cliffs, or in caves and cracks, some of them a hundred metres or more above the valley. They were placed by the Bo people, who lived in the region until about 400 years ago and then disappeared from the records.
Similar hanging coffins are found elsewhere in southern China and in South-East Asia, some of them thousands of years old. Some say the dead were raised so they could be closer to heaven, or kept safe from animals and thieves.
Explanations offered
Archaeologists have suggested several ways they were placed: lowered on ropes from above, hauled up on scaffolding, or set from ramps built along the cliff and later removed. Which was used, and exactly why, isn't known for certain.
- When
- Placed up to about 400 years ago
- Where
- Gong County, Sichuan, China
- Witnesses
- Visitors and archaeologists
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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