Shirenzigou Ruins Cluster

Shirenzi Gully Ruins Cluster

The Shirenzi Gully Ruins Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Shirenzi Gully Ruins in Shirenzi Township are located on the steep northern foothills of the Eastern Tianshan Mountains north of the Donghegou Hydropower Station, about 23 kilometers southeast of Barkol County. These are cultural relics dating from the Bronze Age to the Sui and Tang dynasties. It was listed as a county-level cultural heritage site in 1993. Three platforms were found here—one on the mountain and two at the foot of the slope—arranged in a triangular pattern with an equilateral triangle distribution, very regularly spaced. The straight-line distance between the upper platform and each of the two lower platforms is 4 kilometers. The ruins are widely distributed across an area approximately 10 kilometers east-west and 5 kilometers north-south, featuring well-preserved rock art zones, burial areas, and architectural ruins.

The rock art within the rock art zone is widely distributed and rich in content, comprehensively recording the life and production processes of the nomadic peoples who once inhabited this area. Scenes include solo hunting, group hunts, herding, fertility worship from matriarchal and patriarchal eras, horse racing, relocation, and clothing—all vividly depicted on the rocks, serving as valuable historical evidence for studying the development, migration, and evolution of nomadic tribes. There are thousands of rock carvings in this area, among which a particularly spectacular piece is found on a recumbent boulder over 1.3 meters high and more than 3 meters long, featuring hundreds of animals of various sizes. The hunting scenes depict men wearing hats resembling modern Tibetan monk headgear with fan-like shapes, waistbands holding bows and arrows or water pouches, and three legs (one of which is the phallus), showcasing masculine strength and reflecting the attire of the nomads at the time. Horse racing, a favorite activity of modern Mongolians and Kazakhs, is also depicted in the rock art, indicating that it is an ancient traditional sport of the nomadic peoples. Seasonal migration, essential for the nomadic lifestyle, is also recorded in the carvings from thousands of years ago. The rock art also contains many fantastical or hard-to-explain creatures, such as unicorns and double-horned beasts with large mouths. These depictions remain indecipherable to modern people and may represent extinct animals.

The burial sites within the Shirenzi Gully Ruins are relatively well-preserved, with no signs of human destruction. Architectural ruins are clearly visible, with distinct stone enclosures on the ground. Some stone mound ruins even feature walls built with stones; the largest base measures nearly 30 meters east-west and about 20 meters north-south, while smaller ones have diameters of around 4 meters.

In 2006, the School of Cultural Heritage at Northwest University and the Xinjiang Archaeological Research Institute jointly conducted archaeological excavations here. Led by Professor Wang Jianxin from the School of Cultural Heritage at Northwest University, over 20 doctoral and master's students in archaeology arrived at Shirenzi Township’s Shirenzi Gully to excavate a platform ruin. The platform ruin is situated on a large gentle slope at an altitude of 2,100 meters. A few kilometers away from the slope lies the snow-capped Eastern Tianshan Mountains, while the platform itself is nestled between two mountains of the Eastern Tianshan range, facing south with its back to the north. To the left, a murmuring stream of snowmelt flows down the mountain, and to the south, lush ancient trees stand tall. Standing on the hillside and looking north, the vast Barkol Grassland unfolds before your eyes.

During the excavation, 15 ancient tombs were unearthed, yielding artifacts such as pottery, bronze ware, stone tools, and ironware, as well as horse skeleton burials and human remains. Among them, two female skeletons exhumed from Tomb 01 and Tomb 11 were both buried with their heads to the east and feet to the west. By October 2007, after two years of excavating the platform and tombs, a large number of cultural relics had been uncovered. Based on the survey and excavation findings, this site is considered a large settlement of nomadic peoples. These ancient ruins date back to around 2,200 years ago and may have been the center of a prehistoric nomadic tribal community.

Historical records indicate that the Xiongnu people held religious ceremonies to worship heaven, earth, and spirits every year in the first, fifth, and ninth months. Among these deities, there was a supreme ruler—the “Heaven.” Heaven held a unique and powerful status in the hearts of the Xiongnu and the broader northern peoples.

The stoves unearthed here are flanked by large stone grinding plates and stone chopping boards. One can imagine the scene: numerous nomadic peoples gathered here, setting up a frame with three wooden poles to hang a clay pot over a fire, roasting sizzling mutton, drinking wine from large bowls, and worshipping heaven and earth—an awe-inspiring sight indeed. Due to the highly mobile nature of the nomadic lifestyle, the function of the platform structures likely evolved: initially used for habitation, then perhaps for other activities, and later transformed into ritual spaces. As the excavation progresses, these cultural phenomena will be gradually deciphered, providing compelling evidence for the study of the culture of the Western Regions.

This site has a primarily military function and is quite secluded. The excavation and organization work aims to fill the gap in the study of the overall cultural phenomena of prehistoric nomadic settlement clusters, platforms, and tombs. This excavation project involves comprehensive archaeological research on the platform ruins, tombs, stone enclosures, and surrounding cultural elements, seeking to uncover connections and relationships among nomadic cultures. It will play a key role in revealing the development, changes, and migrations of nomadic peoples, while also accumulating experience for future excavations of prehistoric nomadic settlements on the grasslands. Additionally, it sheds light on some cultural aspects of the nomadic peoples who lived here, establishing links and evidence for understanding the cultures, dwellings, lifestyles, migrations, and development of the Wusun, Yuezhi, and Xiongnu peoples. This pushes forward the archaeological study of ancient Yuezhi and Xiongnu cultures and provides theoretical guidance for the long-term excavation and research of ancient sites in China.

Although DNA testing has not yet been conducted on the human bones excavated from the Eastern Heigou ancient ruins in Shirenzi Township, the final determination of which specific nomadic people they belonged to remains pending. However, the viewpoints proposed by the joint archaeological excavation by the School of Cultural Heritage at Northwest University and the Xinjiang Archaeological Research Institute have gained recognition from domestic and international experts, including Italian Professor Bruno, Professor Shuitao from Nanjing University, and archaeological expert Adelis from the Autonomous Region Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute. They have visited the site multiple times and suggested that these ruins were likely a large settlement of nomadic peoples. Yet, the veil of mystery shrouding the lost nomadic peoples, long hidden by time, has been lifted just a little by the excavation of this site. We believe the true face of this site will soon come to light. The mystery of a major settlement will soon be unveiled.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units