Tianwangshan Tomb Cluster

Tianwangshan Tomb Cluster

The Tianwangshan Tomb Cluster is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Tianwangshan Tomb Cluster is located at the foot of Tianwang Mountain, east and west of Nanhua Temple in Mapu Town, Qujiang County. From 1969 to 1991, through multiple excavations, over 20 tombs were cleared. Among them, there was one Western Han tomb, which is a rectangular vertical pit tomb. Only part of the tomb bottom remains, with seven burial objects, including a pot, a checked-pattern jar, a two-handled jar, a dou vessel, and a bronze mirror. There were two Eastern Han tombs, among which Tomb No. 19 is a rectangular brick-chambered tomb with a vaulted ceiling. The sealed doorway and the vaulted passageway were damaged. The tomb chamber is divided into a passageway, an artifact chamber, and a main chamber, with a total length of 3.68 meters. The main chamber is 2.46 meters long and 1.4 meters wide. The tomb floor is paved with bricks arranged horizontally with staggered joints. It is 6 cm higher than the artifact chamber floor. The passageway and the artifact chamber floors are paved with bricks arranged diagonally with aligned joints. There are 44 burial objects, including 10 pottery pieces, 20 agate beads and tubes, one bronze mirror, one iron knife, eight silver bracelets and rings, and four bronze items. There are also several severely oxidized copper coins. The largest number of tombs are from the Jin and Southern Dynasties periods, mostly rectangular brick-chambered tombs with vaulted ceilings. Tomb No. 11 and Tomb No. 15 yielded dated bricks inscribed with “18th Year of Yuanjia” (441 AD) and “1st Year of Jingping” (423 AD), respectively. Tomb No. 3 contained nine Persian silver coins. The number of burial objects in other tombs varies, but the types of artifacts are largely the same, mainly including two-handled jars, four-handled jars, large bowls, small bowls, round-bottomed dishes, lamps, talc pigs, bronze mirrors, and copper coins. All artifacts are coated with yellow-green glaze. Two Tang Dynasty tombs have basically the same chamber structure. Tomb No. 4 is a rectangular double-chamber brick tomb with a vaulted ceiling. The two chambers are separated by a partition wall, with a small archway at each end of the wall connecting the two chambers. Each chamber has its own passageway. Each chamber wall has four small niches, and the rear wall of each chamber has an attached pillar. The tomb floor is paved in a herringbone pattern. The burial objects include 22 items such as four-handled jars, large bowls, small bowls, basins, flat-bottomed dishes, and three-legged inkstones. All artifacts are coated with yellow-green glaze. There are also two other Tang Dynasty tombs.

Mapu Town: This town is the seat of Qujiang County government, located 15 kilometers from the downtown area of Shaoguan. It covers an area of 189 square kilometers, including 1,853 hectares of arable land and 9,009 hectares of forested land. In 2002, the total population was 98,000, of which 32,000 were agricultural residents. The town has 17 village committees, 7 neighborhood committees, and 234 natural villages. Transportation in the area is well-developed, with the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, National Highway 106, and the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway (the southern Shaoguan entry/exit is located within the town) running through the entire area. Water transport is smooth, with over 10 freight docks along the Beijiang River. Mobile phone and other communication networks cover the whole town; the area... More detailed information about Mapu Town++