The 33rd King of Tibet, Songtsan Gampo, shifted his capital to Lhasa. He was responsible for unifying Tibet as a nation. To commemorate this achievement and to cherish the memory of his ancestors he decided to create the tumuli (means burial ground a mound of earth and stones) or the burial ground or Tombs of Tibetan Kings to bury all his ancestor Kings, from the 29th King onwards with all their ministers and concubines. To accommodate such a large number of tombs, the tumuli extends over an area of 3.85 million square meters. It is the only such tomb in Tibet. Among the various tombs, the tomb of King Songtsan Gampo is said to be unique as it has underground chambers where images of Shakyamuni and Padmasambhava with great quantities of gold, silver, pears and agates as funeral objects are kept. The coffin of the King is kept in a central chamber flanked by a suit of arms on one side and statues of his knights and battle horses made in gold on the other side. The coffin is decorated at its head end with a statue of Lord Loyak Gyalo which is supposed to be shedding light on the dead king. At the foot end of the coffin, there is a cache of pears made in gold and wrapped in silk, and it weighs .