URUMQI, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region excavated 570 tombs and unearthed 5,500 cultural relics in 2018, authorities said Tuesday.

The excavated tombs cover a period from the Bronze Age and early Iron Age to around the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). The relics unearthed are mainly pottery, stoneware, metal works and animal bones, officials said at an annual meeting on archaeological findings in the region.

Last year, 24 archaeological excavation projects were carried out in Xinjiang, excavating an area of 15,550 square meters.