Excavation goes on for ancient tombs in Guangdong

Archeologists in South China's Guangdong Province are making fresh discoveries while excavating the Fufuling Tombs. The dig is an effort to better protect relics from the site, which dates back more than two thousand years.

Archeologists in South China's Guangdong Province are making fresh discoveries while excavating the Fufuling Tombs.

The sprawling ancient graveyard is located north of the Pearl River Delta, at the foot of the Fufuling Hills. Over the past week or so, a preliminary excavation has combed through about eight-thousand square meters at the site. More than 400 tombs have been explored in the process.

Among the 1,000-plus artifacts uncovered are numerous pottery shards, bronze vessels, and jade ornaments.

Judging from the inscriptions and designs on the unearthed objects, archaeologists date the graves back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, which extended over a period of approximately 500 years, until China was unified by the Qin State in the 3rd Century BC.

Most of the tombs were built during the earlier centuries known as Spring and Autumn Period. During the Warring States Era that followed, a number of new graves were built on the site of older tombs.

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, when war and chaos reigned in north and central China, the southern regions were still largely excluded from the politics and culture sweeping the nation. Very little literature about human settlements in southern China during this era has survived.

The ongoing excavation promises to supply some clues as to the organization of the local society, and its possible links to the rest of the country.