URUMQI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- A large ancient burial site has been discovered in Toksun County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the local team conducting the fourth national cultural relics census.

Through field investigations and expert evaluations, the tombs in the city of Turpan have been confirmed to date back to the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC-220 AD).

Wang Long, from the institute of Turpan studies, said that the burial site covers over 10,000 square meters and contains more than 200 tombs. These tombs are of two types -- circular and square stone-pile tombs, and the well-preserved site is an example of early human communal burial ground in the Turpan Basin.

The burial site is located on a terrace near a riverbank and a water source. "This location was a suitable area for ancient nomadic people to live, migrate and bury the dead. Similar sites are common in the grassland regions of Central Asia and are often found in flat areas near river valleys," said Ekbar Kerim, a local culture official.

He added that the site offers valuable materials for studying early human life in the Turpan Basin and the exchange of civilizations along the ancient Silk Road.

At present, the identity of those buried at the site remains unclear, and further archaeological investigations and surveys are expected to shed more light on this. ■