According to the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, at the "Expert Demonstration Meeting on the Archaeological Site of Doushan Site" recently held by the institute, experts unanimously agreed that the Doushan Site in Wuxi, Jiangsu confirms the existence of a city site from the Majiabang Culture period. This is the earliest prehistoric city site discovered in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and one of the earliest prehistoric city sites in China, which has extremely important academic significance and value for the study of the origin of Chinese civilization. In 2023, during the "archaeological pre construction" work of the new Xinxi Expressway project in Wuxi, the cultural relics department of Wuxi discovered the Doushan site. In July 2024, according to the requirements of the National Cutural Heritage Administration and entrusted by the Cultural Relics Bureau of Jiangsu Province, the Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute of Jiangsu Province led the excavation work with 5 units, including the Archaeological Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Archaeological Research Center of the National Cutural Heritage Administration. As of now, the excavation area is about 16000 square meters, and the unearthed relics cover multiple periods such as Majiabang, Songze, Shang Zhou, Tang to Ming Qing, with Majiabang and Songze cultural periods as the main body of accumulation; A total of 194 tombs, 13 house sites, and 12 red clay piles from the Majiabang and Songze cultures were cleared, and nearly 1800 cultural relics such as pottery, stone tools, and jade artifacts were unearthed. The most important discovery in this excavation is undoubtedly the discovery of three trenches and two walls from the Majiabang Culture period in the northwest of the site. The exterior walls and trenches reveal a length of nearly 70 meters, while the interior walls and trenches reveal a length of nearly 50 meters. It is preliminarily speculated that there may be prehistoric city ruins at the site, "Ge Xinwei, the person in charge of the excavation site of Doushan Site, told reporters. Subsequently, the archaeological team conducted key exploration around the site, tracked the clues of the walls and trenches, and based on the exploration results, set up 7 trenches in the northwest, north, northeast, southeast, and south of the site, all of which found wall and trench remains. Based on the walls and trenches revealed in the existing excavation area, as well as archaeological exploration and trench excavation, it can be concluded that the inner walls and their outer trenches are closed and intact. The exterior wall still needs further exploration and confirmation. ”Ge Xinwei said that on the one hand, based on excavation and exploration, the Doushan site has a city site dating back to the Majiabang culture period; On the other hand, according to the pottery shards unearthed from the trenches and walls, it belongs to the Majiabang culture, and carbon-14 dating also indicates that the age of the trenches is no later than 6000 years ago. Previously, the only prehistoric city site discovered in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River was the Liangzhu Ancient City located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The discovery of the Majiabang Culture era city site at the Doushan site in Wuxi has pushed the age of the prehistoric city site in the region to 6000 years ago. The Doushan Site provides new materials for understanding the social form and productivity level of Majiabang culture, as well as studying the process of civilization in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. ”Zhou Runken, Vice President of Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and General Leader of Doushan Site Excavation, revealed that more than 140 Songze culture tombs have been discovered in the central excavation area of the site. Some high-level tombs are accompanied by more than 20 burial objects, both of high scale and grade. Some high-level large tombs are currently being cleared. At the expert argumentation meeting, 16 experts from the Archaeological Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Archaeological Research Center of the National Cutural Heritage Administration, Shandong University, Zhejiang University and other units confirmed that the inner and outer walls and three trenches of the Majiabang Culture period in Doushan Site, with clear stratigraphic relationship and clear relative age, are the earliest prehistoric city sites found in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. At present, archaeologists have basically confirmed the urban area during the Majiabang period. However, further research is needed on the morphology of the outer city, whether the inner and outer cities coexist, the exact age of the construction and abandonment of the city site, and the scope of the Songze Cultural Site. Next, the archaeological team will develop a medium - to long-term plan in accordance with the requirements of large-scale archaeological sites, strengthen interdisciplinary cooperation, and continue to conduct archaeological investigations, explorations, and excavations, striving to reveal the connotation and value of the Doushan site more systematically and comprehensively. (New Society)