In 1959, a family cemetery was uncovered in the city of Tongguan in Shaanxi province.It comprised seven graves arranged in a line from east to west, separated by distances of between fifteen and twenty-seven meters.The graveyard had long been ascribed to the family of the famous Taiwei-Chancellor of the Eastern Han, Yang Zhen (59-124 CE), a point that later confirmed by the archaeological excavation.Graves M2, M4 and M5 contained a peculiarity: nine uniform, slim clay bottles with big protruding mouths, as well as two bulbous clay jars with small mouths measuring between 6 cm and 20 cm high.These containers are all unglazed;most bear red writing in clerical script.Based on their small size and exceptional form, it is clear that the clay bottles and jars were neither containers for foodstuffs or beverages nor models of everyday utensils such as dinnerware or storage vessels;rather, they constituted an independent container type.The five clay bottles found in grave M2 were still located at their original positions during the excavation-in the earth above the barrel vault of the main burial chamber-and were filled with a yellow mineral substance, realgar.Their function can be determined beyond a doubt with the help of the inscription that they share: "The realgar, which is assigned to the middle, should bring the descendants luck and soothe the [god of the] earth."