Thirty-five Tang Dynasty tombs excavated in E China

JINAN -- Archaeological excavations on 35 tombs dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) were completed in Liaocheng city, East China's Shandong province, said the provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

More than 110 cultural relics of various materials, such as pottery, porcelain, bronze, iron, lacquered wood, and clam, were unearthed.

Fifteen tombs are clearly dated, which provides a significant standard for the period division of the tombs in Shandong province, and helps the evolution study of small and medium-sized brick tombs of the Tang Dynasty in the east part of Shandong.

Tower-shaped pots, white porcelain bowls, lacquer plates, and other unearthed relics provide new materials for the study of funeral rites and customs in the late Tang Dynasty in this area. The epitaphs record the age of the tomb owners, serving as samples to correct and revise the age identification by modern scientific means.