Very old house nearby, squalid (3,7)

I believe the answer is:

han dynasty

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'very old house' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't judge whether this works.

'nearby squalid' is the wordplay.
'nearby' becomes 'handy' (I've seen this in another clue).
'squalid' becomes 'nasty' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'handy'+'nasty'='HAN DYNASTY'

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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