More than 3,000 funerary objects, including three sets of bronze chimes, had been unearthed in the previous year, as of September, from 570 ancient tombs in Sanmenxia, Henan province, according to the city's institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

It is the first time that bronze chime bells, an ancient Chinese musical instrument, dating from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) have been found in Sanmenxia since it was established in 1957, said Yan Fei, an archaeologist at the institute.

The institute carried out the excavation of the Shanzhoucheng cemetery site, located in the western part of the city, starting in September 2021.

Yan said the ancient tombs could be dated to a period spanning the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

"Among them, 228 could be dated," said Yan, "They are densely distributed, and the arrangement of the tombs is relatively orderly."

The entire cemetery layout of Shanzhoucheng is well-preserved, providing rich archaeological data for the study of social and political changes in western Henan province, Yan said.

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