Tang Dynasty artifacts, ruins excavated in south China

HAIKOU, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists recently discovered a large number of Tang Dynasty (618-907) artifacts and ruins at the site of an old city in south China's island province of Hainan.

Two building base sites, 76 pillar holes, 24 ash pits and a trench were unearthed at the Zhuyaling city site, alongside ceramic wares such as pots, bowls and plates, as well as building components. Most of these finds date back to the Tang Dynasty.

These findings will provide archaeological data to help understand the island's administrative set-up, social life, handicraft production, and economic and cultural exchanges during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) and Tang Dynasty.

The city site, which has a total area of 28,685 square meters, is located on a high platform on the west bank of the Nandu River in Bofu Village, which is located in the city of Haikou, the capital of Hainan Province.

The site's terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast. The plane of the city site is nearly square, with a circumference of about 715 meters. The four city walls are basically intact, and there is a suspected city gate in the middle of the south wall.

In 1999, the Hainan provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology and the Qiongshan municipal museum excavated the site and preliminarily concluded that it was a military castle dating back to between the middle and late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties (907-960).

From September to December 2022, archaeologists carried out further excavation on an area of approximately 546 square meters to clarify the age and nature of the city site, and to strengthen its research and protection.