Unfortunately, there are no close-up photos of the ruins themselves. However, the researchers have published a few photos of the artifacts they found during the excavations and an aerial view of the area.

What is known about this place

The mysterious origins of ancient bronze vessels found in parts of northern China may be revealed by the discovery of the remains of a full Bronze Age city in the area. So far, archaeologists have found hundreds of wonderful artifacts, including bronze drinking vessels, painted ceramics, turquoise-encrusted jewelry, and carved pieces of jade. At the vast Zhaigou archaeological site, about 110 kilometers south of the modern city of Yulin in Shaanxi Province.

Archaeologists spoke about the find at a press conference held in Beijing by the China National Cultural Heritage Administration. Experts say locals have found artifacts on farmland since the 1940s, but their origin is unknown. Now, the discovery of the entire Bronze Age settlement at Zhaigou, which spanned 11 hills and covered more than 3 square kilometers, explains their story, according to archaeologists.

The ancient city is built on 11 hills / Photograph by the National Cultural Heritage Administration

All the main elements of the central settlement were discovered here. We had already found tombs and large-scale structures in this area before, but this time the whole face of the settlement was revealed,
– Says Xu Liyangao, a researcher with the Chinese Archaeological Institute.

Shaanxi province, together with neighboring Henan and Shanxi, forms the so-called “cradle” of ancient Chinese civilization in the Yellow River basin. And the Shang Dynasty is the oldest with archaeological evidence, although it is believed to predate the Xia Dynasty between 2070 and 1600 BC. A total of 13 ancient Chinese dynasties’ capitals have been in Shaanxi for over 1,000 years, which explains why the modern province is the source of many important archaeological finds.

Excavations at the Zhaigou archaeological site began in June 2022, and the ancient city is considered the largest in the region, with some of the richest tombs ever discovered. Archaeologists have already found nine aristocratic tombs, seven of which are rectangular tombs with passages, indicating that they belonged to local leaders. According to archaeologists, passages in the tombs symbolized high status.

Artifacts found during excavations / Photograph, Shaanxi Academy of Archeology

The Bronze Age city center was built using compacted earth, a construction technique in which a mixture of moist earth is compacted in a form or frame. Buildings with various functions have also been discovered here, including craft workshops and pottery kilns.

Several bronze fragments of chariots and horse remains have also been unearthed, and they will be “very important evidence for the study of the emergence of chariots in China and the development of chariot burial traditions.”

Currently, archaeologists unearthed more than 200 items from the tombslike polished items similar to those found in other Shang Dynasty cemeteries.

At a press conference, experts said that the ruins in Zhaigou may once have been the capital of a separate state conquered by the Shang, located in the city of Yinsu, Henan province, which later paid tribute to them.