A total of 148 tombs from various periods were excavated in a zoo of Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province, between April and July this year, said the Guangzhou Municipal Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology.

Among them, four tombs were from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), eight tombs were from the Jin and Southern Dynasties (265-589), 15 tombs were from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and 121 tombs were from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911).

A total of 196 pieces (sets) of pottery, porcelain, bronze, jade, bead ornaments and other cultural relics were also unearthed. Notably, some of these cultural relics have seldom been found in the province's archaeological discoveries in recent years.

Cheng Hao, an official with the institute, said that the tombs discovered this time are very densely distributed. They are dated from the Western Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-25 A.D.) to the early days of the founding of New China, lasting for more than 2,100 years.

The most important discovery from this archaeological excavation is a nearly intact tomb from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) and a well-preserved tomb from the Southern Dynasty (420-589). The tomb of the Eastern Jin Dynasty is the largest and best-preserved tomb from the period discovered in Guangzhou so far.

"The discovery of these two tombs is of great significance to the study of tomb shapes, stages and funeral customs during the Six Dynasties period (222-589) in Guangzhou, as well as the construction technology during the Jin and Southern Dynasties," Cheng said.

Guangzhou Zoo is located in one of the key burial areas of ancient tombs in Guangzhou. Since 1956, with the construction of the zoo, the Guangzhou cultural relics department has excavated nearly 500 ancient tombs in more than 30 locations in the zoo.