Ancient Tombs Discovered in BeijingChinese archaeologists have discovered an unusual group of 72 tombs in Beijing's eastern suburbs, with the earliest dating back to 2,000 years ago.The graveyard is the biggest of its kind found in the Chinese capital, the archaeologists said, adding that they might lead to the discovery of a big ruined city in Yanqing, Beijing's satellite city. Most of the tombs belonged to the Han Dynasty (206 BC- 220 AD) and Tang Dynasty (618-906), from which the archaeologists have unearthed some pottery and iron and bronze vessels. Experts said that the types of the unearthed items and the shaping of tombs are different from that in central China, hinting that there was a mixture of agricultural and nomadic cultures in ancient Beijing. Beijing first became the Chinese capital in the 12th century when a northern nomadic tribe defeated the Song Dynasty, a Confucianism based kingdom. Further investigations are underway to obtain more findings, the archaeologists said. |
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