Site of the Xian City

Site of the Xian City

The Site of the Xian City is a cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province.

The Site of the Xian City covers an area of approximately 1 million square meters. The cultural deposit is about 1.5 to 2 meters thick. In 1988, the foundations of city walls, each 1,000 meters in length and width, were discovered. The wall foundations are about 20 meters wide, built with rammed earth; the rammed layers are 10–12 centimeters thick, and the individual ramming pits have diameters of 6–8 centimeters. The site dates no later than the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. A temple site from the Sui and Tang periods was found in the central part of the site. Collected artifacts include: sand-tempered brown pottery li tripods with plain surfaces and sand-tempered red pottery li tripods with corded patterns from the Shang and Zhou periods; semi-circular roof tiles with beast motifs, gray pottery dou stem bowls, and gray pottery ding tripods with beast-shaped legs from the Warring States period, among other fragments. There are also Han Dynasty bronze figurine lamps, bronze door knockers, as well as fragments of gray pottery pots, jars, and plates. According to the "Shandong General Gazetteer • Ancient Relics IV": “Yan City is located 10 li northeast of Boxing County. In the past, after King Cheng of Zhou had conquered the Yan state, he intended to relocate its ruler to Pugu. This is the site of the former city, now commonly known as Yian (disliked) City.”

Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Press and Publication

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Shandong Province