China discovers thousands of ancient tombs at 3,000-year-old relic site

On August 28, archaeologists said they had discovered a total of 3,228 tombs at the "3,000-year-old Ruins Site" in the Qinghai Plateau Province, northwest China.

This "3,000-year-old architectural ruin" located in Balong Town, Dulan County, is believed to be home to tombs and houses that existed between 1,500 and 1,000 BC.

The Qinghai Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology (China) has coordinated with Northwest University to implement the Excavation Project in this area since 2021.

Expert Du Wei, Head of the Excavation Project, said the team has discovered three tombs in the area covering a total area of ​​120,000 square meters, with 52 tombs excavated so far.

According to him, many pottery, bronze, jade, woven fabrics, human bones and traces of animals and plants were also discovered at this site. These discoveries provide a lot of material for research on the local Nuomuhong culture.

Nuomuhong is a Bronze Age archaeological culture with Qinghai characteristics, mainly distributed in the Qaidam Basin and neighboring areas.

According to Professor Huo Wei of Sichuan University, this excavation project has provided further evidence confirming the long history of the Qaidam Basin and is of great significance to the research on ancient civilizations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.