The Daqiuyan Tomb Cluster

The Daqiuyan Tomb Cluster

The Daqiuyan Tomb Cluster is a cultural heritage site protected by Heping County.

The Daqiuyan Tomb Cluster is located on Daqiuyan Mountain in Pengzhai, Heping County. From 1984 to 1989, twelve Southern Dynasties tombs and one Tang Dynasty tomb were excavated here.

There are two types of Southern Dynasties tombs. One type is a rectangular, single-vaulted brick chamber tomb — of which there are two. The tomb floors are paved with bricks in a herringbone pattern. They consist of an antechamber and a rear chamber, with the rear chamber being 18 centimeters higher than the antechamber. There are three steps between the two chambers, and a square niche is set into the rear wall. The sealing bricks are laid diagonally in layers. The sides of the tomb bricks are stamped with grid patterns, coin motifs, and fish designs. In Tomb No. 5, a rectangular decorative brick was found in the sealing wall, featuring six consecutive, neatly arranged stamped “king” characters and box-shaped motifs on the surface, and double fish motifs on the side. Tomb No. 13 yielded a large number of bricks stamped with the reversed inscription “建元四年” (the fourth year of the Jianyuan era). “建元四年” refers to the reign title of Emperor Gao of the Southern Qi Dynasty (482 AD). The other type is also a rectangular, single-vaulted brick chamber tomb — of which there are ten. These have no internal divisions or niches, and their floors are paved with herringbone-patterned bricks. The tomb bricks are stamped with grid patterns, coin motifs, and diamond-grid patterns. A total of 97 artifacts were unearthed, including celadon bowls, cups, chicken-head ewers, flared-rim ewers, and jars with four loops; silver hairpins, silver bracelets, silver cups; iron swords, and iron scissors.

Tomb No. 6 is a rectangular, single-vaulted brick chamber tomb. It was built with plain blue bricks, and the floor is paved with herringbone-patterned bricks. The human remains and coffin have decayed, but scattered iron coffin nails remain inside the tomb. Five burial objects were excavated, including a celadon ewer, a celadon jar with two loops, a celadon bowl with a four-petal sunflower shape, a white-glazed bowl, and a winnowing-basket-shaped pottery inkstone. The shapes and glaze colors of the celadon pieces are identical to those of porcelain unearthed from the Shuiche Kiln in Meixian during the Tang Dynasty, indicating that this is a Tang Dynasty tomb.

In 1986, the People’s Government of Heping County designated it as a cultural heritage protection site.