Remainsofpalace,barnsdatingback4,000yearsfoundincentralChina_GuangmingOnlineZHENGZHOU,Dec.21(Xinhua)--Theremainsofapalaceandbarnsdatingbackabout4,000yearshavebeenfoundattwoimportantarchaeologicalsitesincentralChina'sHenanProvince,archaeologistsrevealedonWednesday.Thetwosites,theZhuqiuTemplesiteinthecityofZhoukouandtheancientwalledcityatXinmi,arebelievedtohavebeenbuiltintheXiaDynasty(2070B.C.-1600B.C.).Thenewdiscoveriesatthetwoestablishedsiteshaveprovidedarchaeologistswithfurtherdataontheactivitiesandstructuresofthatperiodinhistory.TheruinsofthewalledcitywerediscoveredsomeyearsagoatXinmi,ontheeasternbankoftheZhenshuiRiver,coveringarectangularareaof176,000squaremeters.Itisbelievedtobealarge-scale,well-preservedcitybuiltinthelateperiodoftheLongshanCulture,acivilizationfoundinthemiddleandlowerreachesoftheYellowRiver.Now,archaeologistsworkingatthesitehavediscoveredarammed-earthfoundationstructuretheybelievetobepartofthecity'sancientpalacecompound.Thenewdiscoverymeasures60meterslongand30meterswide,andcoversabout1,800squaremeters.Itishighatthecenterandlowonallfoursides,withaflatsurfaceandrowsofcolumnholesevenlydistributed."Fromtheholes,webelievethatthefoundationbelongedtoahousecomplexwithterracesinthesouthandnorth,cloistersintheeastandwest,andayardatthecenter,"saidLiBo,headoftheexcavationteam.Rammed-earthremainswerealsofoundtotheeastofthefoundation,whicharchaeologistssayispartofthesamebuildingcluster."Ourpreviousexcavationresultsshowedthatthecentraleasternareaoftheancientcitywasthecoreofthepalacecomplex,"saidLi."Thenewlydiscoveredremains,togetherwiththefoundationsofapalaceandcorridor,constituteacomplexinthequadranglestyle."Henotedthatthenewfindingscouldimprovepeople'sunderstandingaboutthelayoutofancientcities,andprovideimportantevidenceforstudiesoftheoriginanddevelopmentofXiapalacebuildings.ThesecondnewdiscoverytookplaceattheZhuqiuTemplesite.Archaeologistsworkingatthesitesince2022haveunearthedmorethan100relics,includingtheremainsofashpits,ditchesandarchitecture.ThesettlementvenuedatesbacktothelateLongshanCultureperiodandtheXiaDynasty.Amongthemostimportantfinds,therearetheremainsoftwocircularbuildingsconsistingofearthcolumnsandadobewallsthatwereusedforgrainstorage,withasimilarageandstructuretothebarnsintheearlyXiaDynasty.FangLixia,wholedtheexcavationteam,notedthatthediscoverywillprovidenewmaterialsforstudyingthedevelopmentlevelofdryfarmingagriculture,grainstoragetechnologyandthehistoryofbarnbuildinginancientnorthernChina.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.