Cluster of ancient tombs found in E China

Archaeologists have discovered more than 100 Eastern Han Dynasty (24-220 AD) tombs in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The graves in Pizhou City are mostly two meters long and a meter wide, They lie under a large pool and were found when the pool was drained, Ma Yongqiang, a researcher with the Institute of Archaeology of Nanjing Museum told Xinhua on Saturday.

Such a large cluster of Han tombs are a rare discovery and valuable for studies on funeral customs of the time. The tombs were buried only 20 to 30 centimeters beneath the earth and about two dozens have been plundered.

The pool's contractor has asked for 1.5 million yuan (about 240,000 U.S. dollars) from the archaeologists before allowing them to unearth the tombs, but only 100,000 yuan is available. The city's cultural bureau are watching the site and negotiating with the contract.