Two tombs from the time of the Southern Han Empire, Archaeological burial site in Guangzhou, China.
The two tombs from the time of the Southern Han Empire are an archaeological burial site in Guangzhou, China, listed as a national-level protected site. Excavations revealed ceramics, bronze objects, jade pieces, and iron goods buried alongside the deceased.
The two tombs were found in February 2003 during surveys ahead of the Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center on Xiaoguwei Island. Kangling, built in 942 for Liu Yan, founder of Southern Han, lies on the south slope of Daxiang Shan; Deling, 800 m south on Qinggang, is identified as the tomb of his brother Liu Yin. The discovery ranked eighth among China's top ten archaeological finds of 2004, and the tombs were listed as a national protected site in 2006.
The Kangling tomb yielded ceramic models of fruit and vegetables — sweet potato, pineapple, banana, water chestnut, arrowhead, peach and persimmon — the earliest such finds in China. The Deling tomb corridor produced celadon and glazed pottery jars, the first large group of Five Dynasties ceramics found in Guangzhou.
The site is located in Guangzhou and can be reached by public transport without much difficulty. Visiting alongside other nearby historical sites in the city makes it easier to get a fuller picture of the region's past.
The iron objects found in the tombs show no signs of local production, which suggests they were brought in from distant regions. This makes these two graves a small but concrete piece of evidence for the long-distance trade passing through Guangzhou at that time.
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