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ANCIENT CITY: A bird's eye view of the Shimao site in Shaanxi Province on November 8, 2012 (XINHUA) |
The Neolithic Shimao site in Shenmu County has been dated to 4,000 years ago. With an area of over 4 million square meters, it is the largest city ruins of the period found thus far. The discovery provides important evidence regarding the primary stage of Chinese civilization.
According to preliminary estimates, Shimao was built in the middle period of the Longshan Civilization, falling into ruin during the Xia Dynasty (about 2070-1600 B.C.). The ancient city was constructed according to sophisticated design, consisting of an imperial palace as well as an inner and outer city, surrounded by stone walls. The east gate is the earliest such stone structure in China.
Archeologist Zhu Yanping said a multitude of jade ware had been discovered in the area during the previous century.
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