China discovers 1,700-year-old tomb

Archaeologists have found a 1,700-year-old tomb dating back to the Jin Dynasty at a construction site in China's Jiangxi Province.

The researchers found the three-chamber tomb in the capital city of Nanchang, marking the third time that a tomb dating to the Jin Dynasty has been found within China's borders, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

In March, a tomb dating back to the later half of the 265 A.D. to 420 A.D. dynasty was found in another construction site in Nanchang, along with dozens of porcelain and lacquer wares, the report said.

In 1997, Chinese officials also found six tombs linked to the earlier portion of the dynasty.

Xinhua said the trio of discoveries, the most recent including six historical funeral objects, may hold a clue to the mysterious Chinese dynasty.

"That so many tombs from the Jin Dynasty are unearthed in Nanchang indicates a booming economy and culture in Nanchang during that period," Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology Director Fan Changsheng explained.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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