Archaeologists in northwest China's Shaanxi
Province have discovered a large-scale relic site estimated to
be 2,200 years old on the outskirts of the provincial capital
Xi'an.
The site is the biggest of its kind to have been excavated in
the past three decades within the palace grounds of Changle Palace,
an imperial residence from the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-25AD)
The unearthed ruins, which lie in the northwest part of the
palace grounds, are 160 meters long east-to-west and 50 meters
wide north-to-south, with a central structure, according to initial
excavation results.
Archaeologists have also identified two courts in the northeast
part of the structure, each installed with a sedimentation tank.
They are separated by an adobe wall and linked underground by a
ceramic pipe. And two other pipes, each over 30 meters long, are
believed to have been used to drain the water stored in the
tanks.
According to Liu Zhendong, an archaeologist with the Institute
of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who is
leading the archaeological team, the newly discovered
ruins are probably the main structure, namely the front hall
of the Changle Palace, or the main imperial court.
Liu also implied that there could have been a passageway that
linked the two sites, which are only 30 meters apart.
The discovery will offer new clues to the study of the layout
and history of ancient Chinese palaces, Liu said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2006)