Period: Southern Song Period (1127-1279)
Listed in: 2004
Excavated by: the Cultural Relics Protection Administration of Hangzhou City
Archeological team leader: Du Zhengxian
Site description
The excavation of the site was from December 2003 to August 2004, covering an area of more than 1,200 square meters. Many important ruins of the Southern Song Dynasty wereunearthed, including an imperial street and its bridge ramp and pier, roads, palace site, surrounding walls, waterway, and stonework sluice as well as a stone-slab street.
Significance
Lin'an City of the Southern Song Dynasty played a very important role in the development of China's ancient cities. The ruins unearthed are not only rich in variety but also well preserved. Particularly, the finding of a well-preserved imperial street of the period has helped to determine the central axis of the Lin'an city of the Southern Song Dynasty. In addition, the base for the bridge ramp and pier as well as the ruins of a waterway is the typical case of streets running parallel to a waterway in the layout system of cities in South China in ancient times.