The Group of Earthen-Covered Stone Chamber Tombs in Lianyungang

The Group of Earthen-Covered Stone Chamber Tombs in Lianyungang

The Group of Earthen-Covered Stone Chamber Tombs in Lianyungang is a protected cultural heritage site under Jiangsu Province.

Commonly known as "Ancient Caves," "Tang King Caves," or "Hidden Army Caves," these tombs are mainly distributed across Jinping Mountain, Nanyuntai Mountain, Zhongyuntai Mountain, Beiyuntai Mountain in the urban area of Lianyungang, and Yilu Mountain in Guanyun County. A total of 474 earthen-covered stone chamber tombs have been surveyed and identified so far, including 93 on Jinping Mountain, 321 on Nanyuntai Mountain, 25 on Zhongyuntai Mountain, 10 on Beiyuntai Mountain, and 25 on Yilu Mountain. Most of these tombs consist of three main structural parts: the stone chamber, the passage (or corridor), and the earthen mound. The stone chambers are typically built with unworked stones, though some larger ones use more regularly shaped stones. The side walls of the chambers often slope inward from bottom to top, though some are straight. The rear wall is usually straight and mostly trapezoidal, with a few being square. The roof is commonly made of large flat stone slabs laid horizontally, with very few featuring corbelled construction. Most chambers have a passage leading to them. The exterior is covered with earth, forming a gently sloping, dome-like mound. Based on the planar layout of the tomb base, they can be roughly classified into five types: square, trapezoidal, knife-shaped, convex-character-shaped, and waist-drum-shaped. Further classification can be made according to the presence or absence of niches and the location of the passages. Among the finds, blue-glazed pottery jars, bowls, wide-mouthed pots, vats, and fragments of Tang tri-color pottery were excavated from the earthen-covered stone chamber tombs on Nanshan in Gecun, Zhongjie Subdistrict; Tang Dynasty yellow-glazed pottery jars and coins were unearthed from the tombs on Yilu Mountain in Yilu Township, Guanyun County; and various artifacts such as pottery, porcelain, glass beads, coins, scissors, and coffin nails have been excavated or collected from areas like Shikoumen and Tangwang Cave on Nanyuntai Mountain. Lianyungang, located on the coast of the Yellow Sea and facing the Korean Peninsula across the sea, has long been a key junction along the important historical route connecting mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. The Group of Earthen-Covered Stone Chamber Tombs in Lianyungang shares similarities with contemporary tombs in the Korean Peninsula and may be the burial sites of Baekje migrants.

Designated as part of the fourth batch of protected cultural heritage sites in Lianyungang in 2010, and as part of the eighth batch in Jiangsu Province in 2019.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites in Jiangsu Province