Turtle Shell Ruins

Turtle Shell Ruins

The Turtle Shell Ruins is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Turtle Shell Ruins are located 100 meters east of the Xiliang Thermal Power Plant and 200 meters east of the Jinchi Highway, within the jurisdiction of the Longcheng District Cultural Relics Management Office. It is a village site of the Lower Xiajiadian Culture from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. In 1988, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit by the municipal government. The ruins rise 3–5 meters above the surrounding flat land, with sloping edges all around. The site is called "Turtle Shell" because of its round mound-like shape, hence the name Turtle Shell Ruins. Covering an area of 14,457 square meters, trial excavations conducted in 1986 and 1987 unearthed over 500 artifacts, including 38 pit-house, semi-pit-house, and ground-built structures. The unearthed relics are abundant, comprising pottery, bone tools, stone tools, and other daily-use items, agricultural implements, and handicraft tools. Located at the center of the distribution area of Lower Xiajiadian Culture sites, this early Bronze Age site holds significant value for studying the origins of agriculture, animal husbandry, and commercial culture in the Chaoyang region. Therefore, it has high archaeological importance.