Ancient site · City
Shimao
Shimao, in Shenmu County on the northern Loess Plateau of Shaanxi, is the largest known walled site of its time in China, covering about 400 hectares. Its stone walls were once mistaken for part of the Great Wall.
At its heart stood a stepped pyramid built from a reshaped loess hill with 11 platforms, about 70 metres high, decorated with carved stone faces and figures. Jade pieces were set into the walls, and there is evidence of human sacrifice. Shimao shows that powerful centres existed outside the Central Plains. A cooler, drier climate after about 2000 BCE probably led to its abandonment.
- Dates
- c. 2300–1800 BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- Location
- 38.57° N, 110.33° E
How we know
No writing existed; the walls and buildings are dated by radiocarbon and by finds from recent excavations.
Nearby sites
- Yungang Grottoes c. 460–525 CE
- Taosi c. 2300–1900 BCE
- Yinxu (Anyang) c. 1250–1046 BCE
- Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and the Terracotta Army 246–209 BCE
- Erlitou c. 1750–1500 BCE (older estimates from c. 1900 BCE)
- Banpo c. 4700–3600 BCE
Related
- Longshan culture archaeological culture
- The world in 3000 BCE: The First Kings chapter