Prehistoric wooden constructions excavated in China's Hunan

Several large wooden constructions were excavated at Jijiaocheng Site, a Neolithic city site in Central China's Hunan province, according to a briefing held on Oct 9 on the archaeological excavation.

Archaeologists said the large-scale and well-preserved constructions and their craftsmanship and style enrich the architectural history of prehistoric China.

Discovered in 1978, the site is in Lixian county, Changde city. Since 1998, the Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has done on-site investigations, mapping, and systematic archaeological drilling.

In 2021, archaeologists discovered several wooden buildings in the Qujialing culture period (3300 BC-2600 BC), among which the F63 building with a total area of about 500 square meters is the largest and best-preserved.

"The archaeologists systematically sampled the wood of F63. The research results show they date back to between 2800 BC and 2700 BC," said Fan Xianjun, the executive leader of the excavation.

"The discovery helps us understand the overall architectural style of the Yangtze River Basin," said Zhao Hui, a professor at Peking University School of Archaeology and Museology.