Relics spanning over 4,000 years unearthed in China's Zhejiang

HANGZHOU, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Rich archaeological findings spanning over 4,000 years from the Neolithic Hemudu culture to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) have been unearthed in a site in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, according to the Ningbo municipal research academy of cultural heritage management. The Chenwang site, which was first discovered in June 2022 in Ningbo's Fenghua District, is divided into two sections with respective areas of 3,400 square meters and 4,400 square meters. According to Ding Fengya, the person in charge of the excavation site, the excavation took place from February to August this year, revealing six historic layers, the earliest representing the late stage of the Hemudu culture. Most of the unearthed relics date back to the prehistoric period, and include earthen platforms, tombs, wooden cellar pits, and ash trenches from the fourth phase of Hemudu culture, as well as house remains, pottery fragments and stone tools from the Liangzhu culture. Patterned pottery fragments from the Warring States period (475-221 BC), house foundations and construction parts from the Han (202 BC-220 AD) and Six (222-589) dynasties, and porcelain from the Tang (618-907) and Song dynasties are among the other discoveries. The archaeological materials unearthed at this site have significant value in constructing the regional cultural development context and studying changes in human settlements, according to the Ningbo municipal research academy of cultural heritage management. The Hemudu culture originated from the Hemudu site, which was discovered 50 years ago in today's Yuyao City, under the administration of Ningbo. The site has a history dating back about 5,300 to 7,000 years, and its discovery is regarded as a significant milestone in the archaeology of the Neolithic era in southern China. 

（Editor:Liao Yifan）