13 tombs — most over 1,800 years old — unearthed on mountainside in China, photos show

Aspen Pflughoeft
·2 min read
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At the base of a sloping mountainside in southeastern China, a burial complex lay buried, its passageways sealed long ago.

Archaeologists uncovered 13 tombs at the burial complex near Paishanxiang, the Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology said in a Tuesday, Dec. 13, news release. The complex, referred to as the Anren Miaozhushan Tombs, included 10 brick chamber tombs and three earth pit tombs.

One of the brick tombs as seen from above.
One of the brick tombs as seen from above.

Each brick chamber tomb had a relatively short passageway and door leading to a single burial chamber, researchers said. Most burial chambers had a rectangular design with brick platforms inside.

An aerial view of one of the brick tomb passageways.
An aerial view of one of the brick tomb passageways.

Many of the bricks had geometric pattern decorations, and a few had leaf vein patterns, archaeologists said. No inscriptions were found.

The three earth pit tombs were deep pits with small openings, the release said. The bottoms of the pits were larger and had platforms made of dirt. The burials were anywhere from 11 feet deep to 16 feet deep.

A tomb with a layer of sand in it.
A tomb with a layer of sand in it.

Some pits had a thin layer of sand inside, which may relate to the gender of the deceased, the head of the tomb complex excavation, Chen Bin, told Xinhua, China’s state-affiliated news outlet.

Most of the tombs were over 1,800 years old dating to the Eastern Han Dynasty, a period from 25 A.D. to 220 A.D., the release said.

Nine of the tombs contained burial goods, archaeologists said. The grave goods included pots, cauldrons, jugs and basins, the release said and photos show.

A set of pottery found in one of the tombs.
A set of pottery found in one of the tombs.

Other graves included stoves, lamps and knives, researchers said. A few pieces of stone jewelry were also found.

A knife found in one of the tombs.
A knife found in one of the tombs.

The commonality of the grave goods indicated these tombs likely belonged to everyday civilians, researchers said.

Pottery found in one of the tombs.
Pottery found in one of the tombs.

A 14th tomb was later uncovered, Chen told Xinhua on Dec. 27.

Paishanxiang is in the southeastern part of Hunan province and about 305 miles north of Hong Kong.

Google Translate and Baidu Translate were used to translate the news release from the Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

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