CHANGSHA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Two ancient tombs dating back more than 1,800 years have been discovered in the city of Zixing, central China's Hunan Province. The tombs have given up more than 30 pieces of cultural relics, the provincial archaeological institute said Sunday.

Separated by two meters, both were brick-chamber tombs from the same period, said Shen Jiang, a researcher with the Hunan provincial research institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

From one of the tombs, probably for a man, 23 cultural relics such as bronze ware, celadon ceramics, pottery and iron knives were unearthed, while copper coins, pottery and celadon ceramics were found from the other.

"The discovery of the two tombs provides important archaeological data for the study of burial customs, economic and social conditions in the region south of the Yangtze River during the period," Shen said.