6,000-year-old defensive trench unearthed in China’s Henan

A defensive trench dating back around 6,000 years has been discovered at a relics site in central China’s Henan Province, according to the municipal institute of archaeology of Luoyang City.

The semi-annular trench, located at the Suyang relics site in Yiyang County, was dug manually, and the shape and structure reflected the powerful and orderly social organization ability and technical level at that time, said Ren Guang, who is in charge of the excavation of the site.

Based on unearthed relics and the accumulated layers in the trench, archaeologists believe that the trench had gone through three periods of the Yangshao Culture, dating back 5,000 to 7,000 years.

By the late period of the Yangshao Culture, the trench had probably lost its defensive function, as a number of house sites, ash pits, and production and household relics from this period were found on both sides of the trench, Ren said.

Rows of wooden posts that may have been used to protect the trench reflected the re-use of the abandoned facility by people at that time, Ren added.

Pottery, stone, jade, bone and mussel wares were also found at the site, as well as a few well-preserved remains of carbonized corn and millet.

Archaeologists initiated the Suyang relics site excavation work in early 2021.