Ruins of the Five Kings' City

Ruins of the Five Kings' City

The Ruins of the Five Kings' City is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Shanxi Province.

Ruins of the Five Kings' City

Ruins of the Five Kings' City (Fourth Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites)

Era: Eastern Zhou – Han Dynasty

Location: Qianwuwangcheng Village, Xinglingzi Township, and Houwuwangcheng Village, Dongxiuzhuang Township, Wuzhai County

The site is surrounded by mountains on all sides, featuring a rectangular layout. The city walls were constructed along the mountainous terrain, stretching about 2,500 meters from east to west and roughly 1,500 meters from north to south, with a total perimeter of around 8,000 meters. The interior of the city is divided into northern and southern sections. The city wall ruins stand 0.5 to 7 meters high, and six barbicans were built along the perimeter, with the western barbican being relatively well-preserved. The barbicans have a semi-circular layout.

The architectural remains within the city are mainly concentrated in the southern part, where semi-subterranean houses with white lime plaster floors have been discovered. Cross-sections of the site have yielded pottery, stone tools, and bone implements, with pottery being predominantly made of clay, followed by sand-tempered pottery. A large burial ground has been found in the northwest of the city, covering an area of about 1.5 square kilometers. From the surface, square pit tombs with wider mouths and narrower bottoms can be observed, some extending more than 7 meters in depth. In recent years, public security authorities have recovered stolen artifacts such as bronze swords, bronze mirrors, and pottery pieces, which date back to the Warring States period through the Han Dynasty.

Qianwuwangcheng Village: Qianwuwangcheng Village…… Detailed information about Qianwuwangcheng Village++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Shanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units