Xiadu, Archaeological site in Hebei, China.
Xiadu is an archaeological site in Hebei featuring stone walls about 13 meters thick, complete with defensive structures and an extensive network of ancient roads that once connected different areas. The excavations have revealed building foundations, pottery fragments, and jade objects that show how people lived and built here across many centuries.
This location has been inhabited for thousands of years, with evidence dating back between 8,000 and 4,000 years ago. The layers of occupation show how human societies in northern China changed and adapted over such long stretches of time.
The objects uncovered here show how nomadic herders from the Inner Mongolian plateau and farming communities from the North China plain came into contact and exchanged goods and ideas. You can see this cultural crossing reflected in the pottery styles and settlement patterns found across the site.
The site is divided into multiple excavation zones where you can view preserved building remains from different periods on the ground. Walking through the different areas at a comfortable pace helps you understand how spread out this ancient settlement once was.
Archaeologists have uncovered 26 distinct house foundations that document how residential building styles changed over thousands of years in this region. This sequence of structures offers a rare window into how people adapted their homes to shifting living conditions and available materials.
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