A tomb believed to have belonged to a noble official 2,000 years ago has been unearthed in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, archaeologists said Tuesday.

The tomb dating back to the late Western Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-A.D. 9 ) was discovered at the construction site of an underground parking lot in the provincial capital Xi'an in March, said a researcher with the provincial cultural relics bureau.

The brick tomb was equipped with a stone coffin made of 20-cm-thick stone boards. Such a style was rare in Xi'an, which served as China's capital during the Qin (221-206 B.C.) and Han (202 B.C.-A.D. 220 ) dynasties, said the researcher.

The large-sized tomb, measuring eight meters long and five meters wide, indicated that the owner of the tomb was a high-ranking noble official during the period.

Although the tomb was robbed, archaeologists were able to find ceramic pots, jars, scoops and bronze rings in the tomb, providing more information for the research into the Western Han period.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2012)