The Qixingdui Ancient Tomb Cluster

The Qixingdui Ancient Tomb Cluster

The Qixingdui Ancient Tomb Cluster is a cultural heritage site protected by Jiangxi Province.

The Qixingdui Ancient Tomb Cluster is situated in the northeast corner of Yunyang Town, Gao’an City, Jiangxi Province. It spans from the area around Zoujia Village in Dongfanghong Township in the east to the eastern bank of the new Qiaobei Road in the west, covering an area of 2 square kilometers. In three separate excavations, over 40 tombs have been unearthed, and more than 3,000 funerary objects have been discovered and collected, demonstrating immense cultural significance. It is a cultural heritage site protected by Jiangxi Province and a key cultural relic protection unit of Gao’an County.

Located in the northeast corner of Yunyang Town, Gao’an City, the site features a landscape of gravel and continuous earthen mounds. During the Neolithic Age, Qixingdui, commonly known as "Goose Egg Hill," was the location of a large cluster of ancient tombs. It extends from the area around Zoujia Village in Dongfanghong Township in the east to the eastern bank of the new Qiaobei Road in the west, covering an area of 2 square kilometers.

Archaeological Findings

From the early 1980s to the 1990s, archaeological excavation teams composed of researchers from the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Gao’an City Museum conducted three rounds of excavations at the tomb cluster, unearthing over 40 tombs dating from the Warring States Period, Western Han, Eastern Han, Six Dynasties, Tang, Song, Yuan, to Ming Dynasties.

A total of more than 3,000 funerary objects have been discovered and collected. The Warring States, Western Han, and Tang Dynasty tombs were mostly earthen pit graves, while those from the Eastern Han, Jin, Southern Dynasties, and Song, Yuan, and Ming periods were predominantly brick-chambered tombs. Cremation pits were also found. Among them, the Tang Dynasty tombs are the most numerous, and to date, they represent the largest variety of unearthed artifacts in Jiangxi, including pottery, porcelain, bronze, iron, jade, lacquerware, talc, as well as gold and silver items. Many precious relics have been found, such as a bronze sword from the Warring States Period; a celadon tripod, square wine vessel (fang), and frog-shaped sculpture from the Western Han; grass-leaf pattern bronze mirrors; and a Western Han lianzhu-patterned Zhaoming Mirror unearthed in March 1984 at Qixingdui on the outskirts of Gao’an City. The mirror bears an inscription reading: “With inner purity and clarity it illuminates, its light rivals that of the sun and moon, its heart stirs with loyalty yet remains unbetrayed,” and is exquisitely crafted.

Other finds include black-glazed porcelain and bronze crossbow triggers from the Eastern Han; porcelain from the Hongzhou Kiln, square bronze mirrors, and grape-and-sea-monster pattern mirrors from the Tang Dynasty; white porcelain from the Five Dynasties; and celadon from Jingdezhen and transformed black-glazed porcelain from the Jizhou Kiln from the Song Dynasty. Excavations also revealed the ruins of large Han Dynasty architectural complexes, with widespread broken tiles and finely stamped large decorative ceramic panels, as well as multiple pillar foundation remnants.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Heritage Protection Units of Jiangxi Province