In May 2022, archeologists unearthed nearly 200 pieces of cultural relics from over 30 tombs from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), Tang Dynasty (618-907), Liao Dynasty (907-1125), Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1912).
They unearthed three tombs from the Eastern Han Dynasty in this archaeological excavation. They are small and medium-sized tombs commonly found in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The objects included wares for daily use and model funerary wares, embodying the lifestyle of that time. The three tombs were speculated to be a family cemetery .
The coffin chamber of M5 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The decor of a coffin platform in M5 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The vertical view of M7 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The vertical view of M8 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The vertical view of M10 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Ten Tang tombs were found in this excavation, which were located in scattered places and were seriously damaged.
These tombs consisted of tomb passages, tomb gates, passages and tomb chambers.
According to the plane shape of these tombs, they can be divided into arc square, oval, near round and horseshoe shapes.
There were several burial objects in these tombs, including porcelain bowls, pottery, and copper coins.
These small and medium-sized tombs were simple in structure and were built with half-black bricks, implying that the owners of these tombs were not of high status.
The cultural relic in the front room of M10 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The vertical view of M12 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The vertical view of M50 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Two tombs from the Liao Dynasty were unearthed in the excavation, which were seriously damaged.
The tomb labeled M2 was only the bottom of the burial chamber and no coffin bed was seen.
The tomb labeled M50 was a round brick chamber tomb that contained basins, porcelain pots, and copper coins.
More than 10 Ming and Qing tombs were unearthed in this excavation, which were decayed and had simple burial objects such as pottery, porcelain pots, bowls and copper coins.
The tomb unearthed in this excavation are located north of Baimaquan village of Chengguan town in Jizhou district, only 1 km away from Dule Temple.
In the 1990s, archeologists found two Tang tombs in the southeast of Baimaquan village. In 2021, due to the needs of project construction, the Tianjin cultural heritage protection center conducted an archaeological exploration of the tomb groups of Baimaquan village and unearthed 60 tombs from different dynasties.
This excavation provides new materials for understanding and interpreting archaeological studies of the region during the Han Dynasty.
Before this excavation, there were less than 100 tombs from the Tang and Liao (Song) dynasties found in Tianjin.
Although tombs unearthed in this excavation are badly damaged and have fewer funerary objects due to grave robbing, the basic shapes and structures of tombs are clear and the unearthed relics have obvious characteristics, providing precious materials for the establishment of comprehensive research of tombs in Tianjin from the Tang and Liao dynasties.
The excavation of the tomb groups is underway and is hoped to result in new archaeological discoveries.