Builders stumble across 3,000-year-old LOST CITY that was gateway to ‘Maritime Silk Road’ – and it’s packed with relics
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ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered the oldest city in southern China, that is some 3,000 years old. The settlement is the earliest known civilization in the area that provided the base point for the Maritime Silk Road. The Niuluchong site is in the Gongcheng Yao county, near the city of Guilin, southeast China.
![[The 3,000 year-old city was discovered by accident by builders developing some land]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/city-bones-builders-stumble-across-960569155.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
It was first discovered in 2022 by builders who unearthed patterned bricks and broken pottery when they were developing previously untouched land. Initial excavations produced clues that the city was incredibly old, and now a three-month “rescue dig” has revealed its truly staggering age.
![[Structures such as ash pits and pillar holes were discovered in the land]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/city-bones-builders-stumble-across-960569225.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
He Anyi, leader of the dig, said this year’s finds included double city walls and moats. It is very rare to see moats in ancient cities from this region, making Niuluchong a significant find. “The site is about 165 metres long from north to south and 140 metres wide from east to west, with a total area of 23,100 square metres,” he said.
![[Some of the relics unearthed within the walls of the settlement]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/city-bones-builders-stumble-across-960569156.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“The north and west walls of the entire city site are well preserved, among which the west wall is the best preserved, and the highest part of the west wall may be about 1.4 metres.”. Archaeologists pulled a range of fascinating cultural relics from the earth including pottery and stone tools, and found structures such as ash pits and pillar holes.
