An aerial photo of the archaeological site of Shijiaoshan ancient city in Yunxi township, Qujiang district, Quzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/qz123.com]

The city wall, trenches and other preliminary structures of Shijiaoshan ancient city in Yunxi township, Qujiang district, Quzhou, Zhejiang province, have been identified after more than a month of archaeological excavation, local media reported on Oct 19.

The Shijiaoshan ancient city site is another important archaeological clue discovered in Qujiang district after the major archaeological discovery of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC) aristocratic mound tombs. It is of great value to the archaeological culture of the Shang (c.16th century-11th century BC) and Zhou (c.11th century-256 BC) dynasties in western Zhejiang.

Archaeologists have excavated five exploration sites, including the city wall, trenches, and urban deposits.

According to Zhang Sen, leader of the archaeological team, the imprinted hard pottery pieces collected at the site are similar to those found in the Western Zhou Dynasty aristocratic mound tombs in Yunxi, and their ages are relatively consistent.

Shijiaoshan ancient city probably has a certain relationship with the mound tombs, Zhang added. The site of Shijiaoshan ancient city in Qujiang district is believed to be the first ancient city site from the Shang and Zhou dynasties found in western Zhejiang so far.