CHANGSHA — More than 30 cultural relics have been found in a bunch of ancient tombs in the city of Chenzhou, Central China's Hunan province, the provincial cultural relics and archaeology institute said on Sept 5.

Excavation work involving the ancient tomb cluster was conducted between June and July, and 11 tombs and one building site were found in the area.

Chen Bin, head of the archaeological project, said that based on the shape of the tombs, characteristics of the unearthed objects and inscription on the bricks, archaeologists inferred that the tombs were from the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and the building site was constructed in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220).

So far, artifacts such as pottery, porcelain ware, bronze mirrors, copper hooks and agate beads have been unearthed.

The archaeologists believe that the building site was used for sacrificial rites, and eaves tiles found there indicate that the owner of the tomb beside the building site was a person of high status.

"The tomb cluster provides important archaeological data for the study of ancient cities and the development of social culture in China. Funeral customs of different dynasties can help us further understand the social background and characteristics of that time," Chen said.