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A massive tomb complex has been found in a southwest suburb of Beijing.

The 70-hectare archeological site consists of 130 tombs built over 1,100 years ago, spanning between the East Han Dynasty in 25 AD and the Liao Dynasty in 1125.

Some of these tombs have exquisite murals depicting people and furniture. The artifacts found so far include porcelain and lacquer-ware.

Archaeologists say the complex is a rare discovery due to its size, time span and location.

The tombs were discovered due to a planned residential complex slated for construction on top of the site. Beijing adopted a municipal cultural relic’s protection rule that all plots of land must be screened for relics before development.

complex n. 群建筑 此处的tomb complex即为墓葬群，最后一段里的residential complex即为住宅区，居民区

hectare n. 公顷 1公顷=10,000平方米=2.47英亩

archeological site n. 古迹，考古点

AD abbr. 公元，Anno Domini（中世纪拉丁语，in the year of the Lord）的缩写，对应BC（Before Christ），公元前。AD和BC均放在数字后面，跟中文顺序相反。

span v. 跨越时间或空间 后面可直接跟时间或空间的跨度，也可以跟时间或空间的起始点
例句：
It’s ridiculous to give him a “Lifetime Achievement Award” at this time. If you ask me, one needs to have a career that spans at least thirty years to be eligible. （现在就给他颁发“终身成就奖”也太荒唐了。在我看来，一个人的职业生涯起码得跨越三十年以上才有资格被考虑。）
This company boasts development opportunities and other unique advantages spanning from Beijing to Hong Kong, to Tokyo, to London, to Paris, and to New York. I’d be laughing in my dreams if I got their offer. What are you waiting for? （这家公司在全球范围内有各种发展机会和独一无二的优势，从北京到香港，到东京，到伦敦，到巴黎，再到纽约。要是他们邀请我加入，我做梦都会笑醒。你还在等什么？）

mural n. 壁画

artifact n. 手工艺品

lacquer-ware n. 漆器皿

time span n. 时间跨度 这里的span为名词，意思跟上面提到的动词一样

slate vt. 预定，计划，安排 经常以被动语态出现，后面可跟to或for。
例句：
Rumor has it that Hillary Clinton is slated to make an announcement in April on whether she is running for president in 2016. （据说希拉里·克林顿计划四月宣布她是否参与2016年的总统竞选。）

The highly-anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron is slated for a summer 2015 release. Are you ready?（万众期待的《复仇者联盟2：奥创纪元》预定在2015年夏季档上映。你准备好了吗？）

relic n. 遗物，遗迹，遗址 相关概念cultural relic即为文物，文化遗产