Wujiabang ruins unveiled

The Wujiabang ruins in the Xinwu district of Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, were finally unveiled after one year of excavation by archaeologists, local media reported on July 5.

Archaeologists currently have a preliminary understanding of the scope, state, and layout of the ruins and more systematic and long-term excavations will be carried out to gain a further understanding of them.

The 2,500-year-old ruins cover an area of about 900,000 square meters, including about 90,000 square meters of core area.

"The biggest win of this excavation is that we found L-shaped earth walls, ditches, and some sophisticated architecture," said Li Guangri, who is in charge of the excavation, adding that it proves that there were large-scale settlements in the area.

According to Li, more than 30 ash pits, ash trenches, wells, and building foundations have been discovered, and over 300 earthenwares have been unearthed.

The discovery of the Wujiabang ruins provides academic support for the research of city ruins in the Jiangnan region of the Western Zhou (c.11th century-771 BC) and Eastern Zhou (770-256 BC) dynasties.