SHIJIAZHUANG - Cultural workers recently discovered an ancient tomb group, dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), at a river basin in North China's Hebei province.

There are three round-shaped brick couple-tombs located at the bottom of the slope of a river in Linxi county. Inside the tombs, there were burial items such as porcelain cups, pots, coins and hairpins, according to the county cultural relics protection institute.

The tombs were first discovered by local farmers repairing water pipelines in the river. Due to long-term water erosion the tombs are all damaged to varying degrees.

One of the tombs is made with rare red brick, according to experts.

Yang Zunyi, a researcher of the local history, said the county was located at the northern section of the Grand Canal, and the discovery contributed to the study of ancient construction, and was valuable in the study of local burial customs.

Cleaning and restoration work is ongoing.