Zhongcun Pingshan Tomb Cluster

Zhongcun Pingshan Tomb Cluster

The Zhongcun Pingshan Tomb Cluster is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Zhongcun Pingshan Tomb Cluster is located on Shan'gang, Cuntougang, Zhuyegang, and Zenggang in Pingshan'er Village, Zhongcun, Panyu District, Guangzhou. In 1998, 15 brick-chambered tombs were excavated. They date back to the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Based on their floor plans, the tombs come in various shapes including “zhong” (中) character, “ding” (丁) character, “convex” (凸) character, “cross” (十) character, “earth” (土) character, and rectangular. The tomb roof structures include single domed, double domed, and arched vault types. Over 150 artifacts were unearthed, comprising pottery items such as ding (tripods), dou (food vessels), gui (food containers), guan (jars), hu (pots), fu (cauldrons), zun (wine vessels), yu (basins), an (tables), erbei (ear cups), xunlu (incense burners), houses, granaries, stoves, wells, as well as models of chickens, ducks, sheep, and cattle. Other finds included bronze gui, silver rings, agate, amber, and crystal. More importantly, over 600 inscribed tomb bricks were discovered, featuring surnames, personal names, official titles, place names, reign titles, auspicious phrases, numbers, and symbols. Among them, four bricks bear the inscription “Panyu” (番禺), and one brick unearthed from Tomb No. 1 at Cuntougang is inscribed with “Chen Song, Dou Tingzhang of Panyu,” while another brick from the same tomb bears the date “Yongyuan 15th Year,” which corresponds to the year 103 AD.