A mural painted on a brick from the tomb cluster. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

The bricks were unearthed at Tomb No.6 of the Wei and Jin Tomb in Xincheng, Jiayuguan. Experts said they vividly show the whole process of making mutton at that time, and also show that roast mutton was popular in Jiayuguan more than 1,000 years ago.

The site is in a vast desert 20 kilometers northeast of Jiayuguan, scattered with more than 1,400 underground tomb clusters with paintings on bricks. Roast mutton is the customary food of the Qiuci nationality, which indicates that the Hexi Corridor was inhabited by ethnic groups at that time.