Археологичид Хятадын Өвөр Монголын өөртөө засаг захиргааны бүсэд орших 4300-4500 жилийн настай Хоучензуй чулуун хотын доороос эртний хонгилын систем олжээ.
Хятадын Нийгмийн шинжлэх ухааны академийн Археологийн хүрээлэнгийн мэдээлснээр, 2023 онд хийсэн малтлагаар хотын хамгаалалтын байгууламжийн дор байрлах зургаан хонгилыг илрүүлсэн байна. Эдгээр хонгил нь хотын дугуй хэлбэрийн зохион байгуулалтыг даган баригдсан бөгөөд газрын гадаргаас 1.5-аас 6 метр орчим гүнд байрладаг. Хонгил бүр нь ойролцоогоор 1.8 метр өндөр, 1.2 метр өргөн хэмжээтэй, нуман хэлбэрийн таазтайгаар ижил түвшинд баригдсан нь эртний бүтээн байгуулалтын өндөр төлөвлөлтийг харуулж байна.
Тус хонгилууд нь хотын төвөөс эхлэн хэрэм, хаалга болон гаднах хамгаалалтын шуудууг дамнан үргэлжилдэг. Судлаачдын үзэж байгаагаар энэхүү сүлжээ нь цэргийн болон эдийн засгийн зориулалтаар ашиглагдаж байсан байх магадлалтай бөгөөд цэргийн хэрэгсэл зөөвөрлөх эсвэл хотыг хамгаалах нэмэлт гарц болж байжээ.
Хоучензуй хотыг 2005 онд анх илрүүлж, 2019 оноос эхлэн малтлага хийсэн бөгөөд өмнө нь хотын хаалга, бэхлэлтүүдийг олсон байв. Өвөр Монголын Соёлын өв, археологийн хүрээлэнгийн захирал Сүн Жинсүн эдгээр байгууламжийн загвар нь хожмын үеийн Хятадын төв тал нутгийн архитектуртай төстэй байгаа нь тухайн үеийн бүс нутгуудын хооронд соёлын харилцаа холбоо байсныг илтгэж байна хэмээн тэмдэглэжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A remarkable discovery beneath the Houchengzui Stone City in northern China is giving archaeologists a new look at life during the Neolithic period. Hidden below the settlement’s impressive stone fortifications, a network of six underground tunnels has revealed that the city’s builders planned far beyond what could be seen above ground.
Located on the northern bank of the Hun River in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Houchengzui Stone City dates back roughly 4,300 to 4,500 years. The site, which covers about 340 acres, was already known for its sophisticated defensive layout before excavations uncovered another layer of its history beneath the surface.
The site was first identified in 2005, but archaeologists only began excavating it in 2019. Early work exposed an inner city, an outer city, fortified gatehouses and defensive trenches, showing that the settlement had been carefully designed to protect its inhabitants. A few years later, researchers made an even more surprising find underground.
A Hidden Network Beneath The City’s Defenses
The discovery came during excavations carried out in 2023, when archaeologists uncovered six interconnected tunnels beneath the settlement. According to the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which announced the findings through the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the tunnels mirror the circular layout of the city above them.
The passages sit at different depths, from around five feet below the surface to nearly 20 feet underground. They are also strikingly uniform, measuring about six feet high and four feet wide, with carefully built arched ceilings.
The tunnels stretch from the center of the city, pass beneath walls and gates, and continue beyond the outer fortifications, forming a branching underground network beneath the settlement. Their position and connection to key defensive structures suggest they were carefully integrated into the city’s broader layout rather than simply added at a later stage.
A Level Of Planning That Surprised Archaeologists
Finding a single underground passage at a Neolithic site would already be considered an exceptional discovery, as subterranean structures from this period are rarely documented. Discovering not one but six interconnected tunnels, all built with consistent dimensions and integrated into the city’s defensive layout, was an entirely different matter. The scale and organization of the network immediately drew researchers’ attention and prompted a closer examination of how such an ambitious underground system was planned and constructed.
According to China Daily, Sun Jinsong, director of the Inner Mongolia Academy of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said one of the tunnels runs from the inner barbican to the outside of the city, while another connects directly with the surrounding moat.
The underground discovery adds to an already impressive defensive system. Earlier excavations had identified the Main City Gate, the Urn City Gate, the Outer Urn City Gate and a series of trenches surrounding key entrances and walls, all built to strengthen the settlement’s defenses.
What Archaeologists Know So Far?
Researchers believe the tunnels may have served both military and economic purposes. Some extend beyond the city’s defensive walls, making them suitable for moving military supplies or transporting goods beneath the settlement.
The passages are large enough for a person carrying equipment to move through comfortably, while remaining narrow enough to be defended if necessary. As stated by the same source, Jinsong also pointed out that:
the design of Houchengzui Stone City’s gates “resembles other earthen architectural ruins (from centuries later) in China’s Central Plains region”. He added that those similarities “demonstrated communication among peoples across the regions.”
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