Ruins of two 4,000-yr-old cities found in central China
January 14th, 2011 - 2:41 pm ICT by ANINew Delhi, Jan 14 (ANI): Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of two ancient cities dating back 4,000 years in central China.
The square-shaped cities, covering an area of 1.68 million sq m, were unearthed in Henan, said Ma Xiaolin, deputy director of the provincial cultural heritage bureau.
One of the cities is believed to be the capital of a tribal state of the Xia dynasty (2100 B.C. - 1600 B.C.) while the other was a key military town of the early Shang dynasty (1600 B.C. - 1100 B.C.), reports Xinhua.
The two cities are located in the Wangjinglou relics site in Xinzheng city.
The military town has a 2,000 sq m gate, and also includes moats, roads and tombs.
Archaeologists believe that the discovery would shed light on the development and construction of early cities, culture shifts and the origin of the nation. (ANI)
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Tags: ancient cities, archaeologists, central china, cultural heritage, culture shifts, deputy director, discovery, heritage bureau, military town, New Delhi, relics, shang dynasty, tombs, tribal state, xia dynasty, xiaolin, xinhua