Ruins of 'satellite city' discovered in NW China

Photo taken on Dec 16, 2014 shows the remains of an ancient satellite city south of China's largest prehistorical ruins at Shimao in Yulin city, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an ancient satellite city 20 kilometers south of China's largest prehistorical ruins at Shimao in Yulin City of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, according to a recent report from Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

Sun Zhouyong, vice president of the institute, said that the city consists of 66 houses, ten round craters, and three square craters, and it also has revealed another 200 small cultural relics.

The ancient satellite city represents the middle and late period of Longshan Culture, which dates back to Neolithic times.

The architectural form and date of the unearthed finds have significant links with the city of Shimao, which lay in Shenmu county.

According to the archaeologists, many small settlements surrounded Shimao, which emerged on the Northern Shaanxi Plateau along the Yellow River.

Archaeologists said that the discovery offers further insights on the formation and development of early states and civilizations, as well as on the prehistory of Loess Plateau and its complex development.