Archaeological finds push Yan'an fortification history 2,300 years ahead

Archaeological discoveries at Lushan Mao relics site in Baota district of Yan'an of Shaanxi province date back to 4,500 years, which may push Yan’an fortification history 2,300 years ahead, official said on Tuesday.

The "2017 Shaanxi provincial new archaeological discoveries seminar", cohosted by Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and Social Science Association of Shaanxi Province, was held on Jan 23, 2017. It gave a detail report on the archaeological discoveries at Lushan Mao relics site.

The Lushan Mao relics site, covering an area of more than 2 million square meters, is one of the extremely large prehistoric settlements site ever discovered in China.

After two years of archaeological excavation, ruins of houses, ovens, rammed earth walls have been found, and a large amount of pottery, stoneware, bone artifacts, and jade ware have been unearthed.

Duyuan, an expert from School of History and Culture, Yan 'an University, said that according to historical documents, the earliest fortification history of Yan’an can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220), about 2,200 years ago.

However, the new discoveries at Lushan Mao relics site rewrites the history of Yan’an and put it 2,300 years ahead.