CHENGDU, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 cliff cave burial sites have been identified in Zhengxing Township in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, the local archeological institute announced Wednesday.

The cave tomb cluster dating back to the Han Dynasty and Wei-Jin period (206 B.C.-420 A.D.) was found on high cliffs facing the Jinjiang River, which runs through the city.

The discovery of the tomb cluster is rare given the large scale of the tombs, said Pan Shaochi from the Chengdu Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute, adding that some of the tombs have up to seven chambers with tunnels as long as 20 meters.

Pan said about 1,000 gold, silver and bronze artifacts have been found despite some of the tombs showing signs of looting.

"The discovery of the tomb cluster has provided rich materials for archeological research on the Han and Wei-Jin dynasties," said Pan.