A natural bond

Village people

Two things are worth noting about the inner city wall. First, on each its four sides were two water gates, making sure the waterways could run uninterrupted from the foot of the mountains, or elsewhere, right into the heart of the city several kilometers away.

Second, about 5 meters high, the wall featured a flat top about 20 meters wide. Judging by what has been found there, it appears that it served as an elevated area upon which people built their houses, a natural conclusion, given the fact that Liangzhu City was effectively built on watery lowland.

Elsewhere, people were not that lucky. They had to find a way to protect their dwellings from the daily erosion of water. One of the solutions was the stilt house, which can still be found today in many parts of world, most notably in southern China and Southeast Asia.

"Stilts are either poles, rods or pillars that are driven into the ground to support a building, allowing it to stand at a distance above that ground," says Wang. "This structural approach was also seen with Liangzhu's granaries, for apparent reasons."

Sometimes, though, the stilts were not enough to keep their floors dry, so Liangzhu people piled earth to build what Wang considers mini versions of the platform upon which the palatial complex was built.