Archaeologists have discovered a 3,600 year-old water system in central China’s Henan Province.
The discovery was made in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province.
Three ditch sections were found in the ruins of a city from the era of Shang Dynasty which existed from 1600-1046 B.C, and the archeologists said the sections form the largest water system from the early period discovered so far.
According to local archaeologists, one of the sections was built on a natural river channel, while the remaining two were entirely artificial.
“About 540 meters of ditches were unearthed, with a width of about 12 meters at the widest point, and a depth of roughly four meters at its deepest point.
“Based on our study of spatial positions and cultural relics recovered from the ditches, we believe that they were interconnected and belonged to a large water system, which demonstrated the grandeur of a Shang capital,’’ said Yang Wensheng.
Wensheng is the vice director of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology.
Ruins of the city covered about 25 square kilometres, and it was believed to be a former Shang capital built by Emperor Tang, the first emperor of the Shang Dynasty.
In one of the ditch sections, archaeologists found artificial open channels and stone facilities for water diversion, indicating that in the early Shang Dynasty, there had already been complex functional design of the water system.
Remains of handicraft workshops for copper casting and making bone objects were also found.
The ditches were connected with ponds and a garden in the northern parts of the city, which meant that water in the system supplied not only production and life in the city, but was also used for landscaping of the city.
“Discovery of this water system enhanced our understanding of the layout of the ancient city.
“This is of significance for in-depth study of city planning and functional zones division in the early Shang dynasty capital,” Yang Shugang of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology said.
