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Ancient Ditches Unearthed in Sanxingdui
Chinese archaeologists have excavated three ditches 40 centimeters under the ground during the ongoing excavation of the Sanxingdui, an important relic site in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
A 10-meter-long section of a ditch has been cleaned up. It is 30 centimeters to one meter wide and 20 to 80 centimeters deep.
Wang Lumao, head of the Sichuan provincial archaeological team, said the three ditches were abandoned during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but the building date is yet to be determined.
Wang ruled out the possibility that the ditches were used for irrigation, saying that they were likely used for drainage of urban wastewater or water supply. The ditches might also be part of other urban infrastructure facilities.
Experts say that the discovery of the three ditches has provided evidence that the site where archaeologists are conducting the fourth excavation is the central urban area of the ancient kingdom of Sanxingdui.
The city walls were founded around this area in an excavation in 1996. Another excavation was conducted in 1998.
Archaeologist Chen De'an said the current excavation aims to find the urban center of the Sanxingdui ancient kingdom, and make clear the distribution of residential areas, workshops, tombs and palaces.
A great number of potsherds belonging to different historic periods have been unearthed at the site since the current excavation started on December 4.
The site, covering an area of 12 square kilometers, might be the ruins of the largest oriental city in the world. It dates back to between 2,875 and 4,070 years ago, according to experts.
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