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  Statue of a lion standing on a lotus pedestal and other objects unearthed from the grave complex uncovered on the North Campus of Sun Yat-sen University.

The Guangzhou Cultural Relics & Archeological Institute announced on June 13 that some unusual objects had been unearthed from the construction site of the Integrated Medical Building on the north campus of Sun Yat-sen University. The unearthed items are rare in the Guangzhou region; archeologists have yet to figure out the purpose of a statue of a lion standing on a lotus pedestal.

The construction site is located at Mapenggang, facing the Pearl River to the south in line with the feng shui (geomantic) practices and was a major burial ground of ancient times. During the past half year, archeologists have excavated 22 ancient graves, including eight Western Han-Dynasty earth-pit graves, three Eastern Han-Dynasty brick graves, one brick grave dating back to the Three Kingdoms Period, and ten brick graves dating back to the Western Jin, Eastern Jin and Southern dynasties. In total, approximately 300 burial objects have been unearthed.

Among the graves uncovered, there are two vertical earth-pit graves dating back to the Nanyue Kingdom period, each containing a coffin. Archeologists speculate that the graves were for a husband and wife, who had been buried at different times; such burials as this were extremely rare in the Western Han Dynasty period.

(translated by Guangzhou Association of Foreign Affairs Translators)

Editor: Wing