LANZHOU, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The research on a vast ceremonial complex in Longnan City, northwest China's Gansu Province, has been released Wednesday, according to the provincial institute of archaeological research.
After three years of excavation and study, the ritual site, which was unearthed in Lixian County in 2012 during field research, was believed to date back to the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-207 B.C.).
The remains were found on a massive artificially-treated platform at the top of a hill, with an area of about 28,000 square meters. The exterior of the platform is surrounded by rammed earth walls, and the interior has a hierarchical and well-ordered group of rammed earth building sites, said Hou Hongwei, associate researcher of the institute.
The artifacts excavated from the site are architectural components, including cloud-patterned tiles, rope-patterned barrel tiles, slate tiles, reversible floor tiles, and hollow tiles, said Hou.
The relics of these building materials are standardized and unified in pattern, reflecting the systematic and large-scale building production norms of the Qin Dynasty and making it a rare and well-preserved archaeological discovery in China, Hou added. ■
