A tomb with more than 1,000 years of history was unearthed in downtown Guangzhou recently, according to the local archaeology institute.

"We prospected the region for antiquities for a long time before discovering the tomb last month," Ma Jianguo, a researcher with the Guangzhou Research Institute of Historical Relics and Archaeology, said yesterday.

Ma said the red brick tomb was built in the Southern Dynasty (AD420-589) for people of wealth.

The tomb is located in the eastern part of the city on Huanshidong Road, one of Guangzhou's busiest areas.

During the Southern Dynasty, it was a suburban area, where many tombs were concentrated.

The tomb is rectangular in shape, about 8 m long, 3 m wide and 90 cm deep. 

The tomb has front and back chambers connected with an aisle. A well measuring about half a square meter lies in the middle of the tomb.

Archaeologists found four green glazed porcelain oil lamps but no human remains.

Ma said indications that the tomb was built in the Southern Dynasty are the design of the lamps and the tomb structure.

The location of the tomb is now a construction site covering more than 6,000 sqm.

Ma said they had dug in one-third of the construction site.

Since the tomb could be one of a group, other tombs maybe unearthed nearby in the future.

Ma said construction has been stopped until the research is completed.

He said they would determine a way to protect the tomb.

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2007)