Two cans of ancient paddies dating back to the imperial Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were unearthed at a construction site in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The 500-year-old paddies were discovered from a group of six tombs belonging to a civilian family in the late period of the Ming Dynasty,according to Wang Changwen, expert of the local culture protection center.

The six tombs are side by side in simple shape with a total length of eight meters. The width and depth of the tomb chambers are three meters and one meter, respectively.

The paddies were stored in two barn-shaped pottery cans, along with abundant pottery utensils in the tombs, Wang said, adding that it is rare that the paddies from two similar cans vary in color: carbon black and straw yellow

Further excavation over the tombs is expected to continue, he said.

Source: Xinhua