GuangZhou archeologists have uncovered more than 10 tombs dating back to the Nanyue Kingdom, the East Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period, and the Jin, Nan, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties on a construction site. From these tombs, nearly 100 precious artifacts have been found, including a number of “Songyuan Tongbao” coins, the first cast coins of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The cluster of tombs was found in the western part of the construction site, at the foot of a hill. No tombs were found in the southeastern part of the site. A cross-section of the construction site indicates that in ancient times, a river might run across the site from northeast to southwest, as most of the tombs were located along the river.

A number of ceramic vases, bowls and boxes and well-preserved rare bronze axes were unearthed from a grave dating back to the Nanyue Kingdom.

The finds include a small-sized masonry burial chamber thought to be from the Three Kingdoms period. The bulk of the burial chamber was built with trapezoid bricks, which are rare among previously unearthed sites. Although it is small, the burial chamber’s structure is largely intact. Five highly valuable glazed porcelain objects and one bronze mirror were found among the burial objects.