Over 2,200-yrs-old Ancestral Temple Complex Found In NW China

LANZHOU, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Mar, 2024) A magnificent ancestral temple complex used for royal worship and rituals, dating back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), has been discovered in northwest China's Gansu Province.

Located in Lixian County, Longnan City of Gansu, the Sijiaoping site is a large-scale ritual building complex designed with a symmetrical layout.

The rammed earth platform at the center of the site features a square, semi-crypt space in the middle, which is paved with floor and wall tiles and connected to a drainage pipe made of clay.

The semi-crypt space is believed to be an open patio with some water catchment and drainage functions, which is the very first of its kind to be unraveled in ancient ritual buildings, said Pei Jianlong, a researcher from the provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology.