Tomb No. 16 at Taojinkeng

Tomb No. 16 at Taojinkeng

Tomb No. 16 at Taojinkeng is a cultural tourism attraction.

Tomb No. 16 at Taojinkeng is located on a hillside near Taojinkeng (present-day Baiyun Hotel). It was excavated in 1973. The site is a small wooden-chambered tomb. The burial pit measures 3.7 meters in length and 2 meters in width. Both the coffin and outer chamber have completely decayed with no remains left. The grave goods include a set of pottery ritual vessels—ding (tripod), he (covered box), and hu (jar)—as well as over ten other pottery items such as urns, jars, pots, and steamers. One of the pottery urns has the seal script characters “Changqiu Jushi” (长秋居室) stamped on its shoulder. “Changqiu” refers to the palace where the empress of the Han dynasty resided, first established in the sixth year of the Zhongyuan era of Emperor Jing of Western Han (144 BCE). Based on this pottery inscription, the absolute date of the tomb can be determined to be within the 33-year span between the reigns of Emperors Jing and Wu (144–111 BCE). This is an extremely rare example of a Nanyue tomb with a confirmed absolute date, providing a crucial chronological benchmark for the periodization and dating of the hundreds of Nanyue-period tombs discovered in the Guangzhou area.