Archaeologists find tombs and relics of a 2,000-year-old palace

By Zhang Jun  |   2008-6-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

LOCAL archaeologists have unearthed five ancient tombs and a batch of artifacts in Songjiang District dating back 2,000 years.

The excavation is expected to provide new evidence to study ancient civilizations around Shanghai.

"This is one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in the city," Song Jian, an official of the Shanghai Cultural Relics Management Commission, said yesterday.

Over the past few months, Song's commission, together with archaeologists from Fudan University and Shanghai University, have renewed the excavation works in the Guangfulin area - a village in Songjiang and the city's most important archaeological site where a crucial part of Chinese civilization may have been located.

During the excavation of the tombs, the archaeologists unearthed human bones and artifacts from as early as before the Warring States Period (476-221 BC).

The artifacts include jade and ceramic tools, broken bronze pieces and animal bones. Song said his team also excavated the remaining passages within ancient buildings, including a house elevated by wooden pillars to reduce humidity.

The site of Guangfulin was first discovered in 1958 when irrigation projects in the western district unearthed artifacts. In late 2000, archaeologists unearthed two bronze farming implements belonging to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-221 BC).

They found an early water-channeling system dating to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and a well from the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), among other discoveries. Song said the Guangfulin Area may be home to an ancient palace and surrounding residential houses from more than 2,000 years ago.