4,000-year-old granaries discovered in central China's Neolithic ruins

ZHENGZHOU - Archaeologists have unearthed a number of circular foundations at a Neolithic site of Longshan Culture dating back about 4,000 years in Huaiyang, central China's Henan province, and believe they are one of China's earliest granaries.

The Shizhuang Site was discovered when workers built a factory. According to an archaeological survey, the site covers 30,000 square meters with the main living area of 5,000 square meters surrounded with rammed earth walls. The ground bases of the granaries are located inside the ancient settlement.

The Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology began excavation of the site in July.

Cao Yanpeng, an associate researcher at the institute, said the Longshan Culture represents a gradual transition from a primitive society to a civilized era. The cultural sites were discovered in places in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, including the current provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong.

The main artifacts from the culture are characterized by black pottery.

"Granaries from that period, especially circular ones, were rarely found in previous discoveries," said Lei Xingshan, secretary of the Party Committee of Peking University's School of Archaeology and Literature.

The site also contains cultural remains from the Spring and Autumn period (770 - 476 BC), and Han (206 BC-220) and Tang (618-907) dynasties.