KUNMING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- More than 10,000 artifacts dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) were unearthed during an archaeological excavation in the China-Myanmar border city of Lincang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, local authorities said Thursday.

The excavation has unearthed more than 900 small artifacts in three cultural relics sites in Lincang since last November, including bronze ware, pottery and porcelain, as well as over 10,000 pieces of fragmentary building materials such as brick and tile, according to the provincial cultural relics and archaeology research institute.

Based on the strata and the unearthed relics, the three sites all belong to the Ming and Qing dynasties, with one being an important site for Buddhism, said Min Rui, a researcher of the institute who led the excavation.

"This discovery can provide rich information for understanding people's production and living situations, social structure, funeral customs, urban architecture, Buddhist culture and foreign exchanges in Lincang during that time," Min said.