XI'AN, China, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Chinese archaeologists say they've excavated fortifications surrounding the largest Neolithic Chinese city ever discovered.
Researchers with the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology said the ruins of two square beacon towers, once part of the city wall of the 4,000-year-old Shimao Ruins in Shenmu County, have been uncovered, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported Thursday.
The larger of the two was 60 feet long, 52 feet wide and 13 feet high, institute deputy head Su Zhouyong said.
The Shimao Ruins, first found in 1976, were thought to be a small town until last year, when archaeologists identified the ruins as part of a much larger city, the largest of its kind from Neolithic times.
The city, from the last era of the Stone Age, contained a central area with inner and outer structures, and the walls surrounding the outer city extended over an area of 1.6 square miles, the researchers said.
