57 ancient tombs found in South China

GUANGZHOU - Nearly 500 archaeological items have been found in 57 ancient tombs in South China's Guangdong province, a local cultural heritage and archaeology institute said Thursday.

The tombs, dating back to periods between the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) and the Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911), were unearthed in construction sites in the provincial capital Guangzhou.

There are 11 tombs from the Han Dynasty, and 13 tombs from the Jin and Southern Dynasties (266 - 589), both relatively large in number and scale, said Yi Xibin, deputy head of the Guangzhou Municipal Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology.

The unearthed items include pottery objects, bronze ware, ironware and beadwork. They offer rich materials for studying the historical and geographical changes in Guangzhou, Yi said.

Yi noted that a piece of beadwork made of crystal, agate and amber may have come from a foreign country during the Han Dynasty, and offers new evidence for the East-West exchanges along the ancient Silk Road.