CHENGDU, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists in southwest China's Sichuan Province have unearthed a tomb cluster and other ruins dating back between the Warring States Period (475 B.C.-221 B.C.) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), local authorities said.

Since late March this year, 165 tombs, 13 ash pits, 11 trenches and three pottery kilns have been excavated from a construction site in Wuyi village of Pengshan District in the city of Meishan, according to the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute.

More than 900 pieces and sets of burial objects were also unearthed from the site.

"The cluster features a long span of more than 2,000 years and the tombs were densely built," said Li Wantao with the institute and person in charge of the excavation project, which was carried out concertedly by the institute and the Pengshan cultural relics protection and research institute.

Li added that the excavation work is in progress and more discoveries will be made in the future.

Based on historical records, archaeologists confirmed that the tomb cluster was on the position of Wuyang, an ancient city, and a burial ground for the descendants of ancient Shu Kingdom centered around today's Sichuan.

"The long span and diverse shapes of the tombs, as well as the multiple combinations of burial objects, all reflect the unification process of ancient Shu civilization and the Chinese civilization, and they have great academic value," Li said. Enditem