A lost city uncovered in China
The ancient walls of a lost city in southern China have emerged in a remarkable discovery by archaeologists.
The northern section of the city wall is believed to have been uncovered at the Sanxingdui site in Sichuan province, dating back more than 3,000 years to the Bronze Age.
A complete picture of the city has now come to light, as the east, south and west parts of the wall had already been uncovered, reported the People's Daily Online.
Three Neolithic tombs, including a complete human skeleton, believed to predate the walls have also been unearthed.
Even the finger bones of the skeleton, thought to be that of an ordinary civilian, remain.
Experts say the discovery of the city walls means they have finally been able to confirm that the site was indeed a former city, rather than simply a sacrificial site.
Sanxingdui is believed to have once been the largest city in southern China during the Shang Dynasty between 1600 BC and 1046 BC, and may have had its own emperor.
The ancient Chinese city is even older than Rome, which was founded in 753 BC.
But Sanxingdui remained hidden for thousands of years, and was only discovered again in 1929.
Archaeologists found two large sacrificial pits from the Shang Dynasty back in 1986, as well as unearthing of thousands of Bronze Age artefacts.
Since then, a team of archaeologists have been working hard to put together a more complete picture of what appears to be a lost civilisation.
Experts say they still do not know why the city's entire population suddenly left, although the latest speculation is that there may have been a major earthquake in the area.
No writing or records from the ancient civilisation have been found, leaving archaeologists with few clues.
Zhu Yarong, an official from the Guanghan City archaeological department, said: “As long as the walls have been identified the city can truly be designated as a city. Since ancient times all cities have been square shaped.”
He added that at present they had not found any tombs of emperors or high ranking rulers, but was sure these tombs were waiting to be discovered.
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