Millennia-old tombs, artifacts unearthed in China's Guangzhou

Fifty-eight tombs and artifacts from the pre-Qin period (before 221 BC) have been unearthed from a site in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province.

According to the Guangzhou Municipal Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, over 200 tombs, pits and cellars have been cleaned at the Lanyuanling site in Guangzhou's Huangpu district.

The institute said the remains date back to two periods -- the late Neolithic Age to the early Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC), and from the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC) to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

The excavation work began in June and has spanned some 2,000 square meters. Over 160 pieces and sets of earthenware, proto-porcelain, and wares made of bronze, jade and stone have been unearthed, including a well preserved, high-quality jade bracelet, according to the institute.

Zhang Qianglu, deputy head of the institute, said the new discoveries will help reconstruct the early history of the northeast region of Guangzhou.

They are also further proof that the area was important to the development of early civilization in the Pearl River Delta in South China, Zhang added.