The Site of the Dalang Ancient City

The Site of the Dalang Ancient City

The Site of the Dalang Ancient City is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Era: Han Dynasty

The Site of the Dalang Ancient City derives its name from its location in Dalang Village, Shiwan Town. In June 2003, the Guangxi Cultural Relics Work Team announced to the public that this is the first large settlement site from the mid-Western Han Dynasty discovered in Hepu that matches the time period recorded for the Maritime Silk Road.

The city walls of the Dalang Ancient City site measure 215 meters in length on all four sides, forming a square, with the city foundation being 18 meters wide. The site covers an area of over 40,000 square meters. The cultural relics team discovered a large number of carved and geometric stamped pottery shards within the site. These shards consist of two types: clay pottery and sandy clay pottery, predominantly in gray-black, with a small number in red and gray. The decorative patterns include more than ten varieties such as checkered patterns, rice-character motifs, wave designs, lozenge-checkered patterns, and mat impressions. The decorations are delicate, intricate, and clearly stamped, markedly different from artifacts found in Eastern Han tombs or even those unearthed from late Western Han sites in the area. Additionally, over 20 very regular postholes were excavated, preliminarily analyzed as belonging to stilt-style architecture, likely structures such as watchtowers.

Through research and testing, the Guangxi Cultural Relics Work Team concluded that the site dates back to the early to mid-Western Han Dynasty. The discovery of the site holds significant archaeological research value for understanding the historical evolution of Hepu Commandery during the Han Dynasty and for identifying the starting port of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

In May 2013, it was designated and announced by the State Council as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units