With a height of more than 70 m, the Shi Mao pyramid in Shenmu city, Shaanxi province, is about half the height of the Giza pyramids built at the same time in Egypt. But unlike many ancient pyramids serving religious purposes, Thach Mao has practical uses. At the top of this 4,200-year-old pyramid is a palace of more than 80,000 square meters – the equivalent of 10 football fields.
Experts discovered carvings suspected to be portraits of a king at the foot of Thach Mao pyramid. Photo: SCMP
Archaeologists have discovered intricate structures in the palace, including a crocodile pond. The palace overlooks the vast walled city – 50 times larger than the palace – with communal courtyards, streets and public squares all built of stone. DNA analysis shows that the majority of the city’s residents are Chinese. However, this ancient civilization seems to have disappeared suddenly about 3,800 years ago.
At the 4,200-year-old Shimao pyramid in Shenmu city, Shaanxi province, China, experts found a stone carving suspected to be an emperor’s portrait.
At the foot of Thach Mao pyramid, archaeologists found a work suspected to be a portrait of a king carved into stone, SCMP reported on August 9. It belongs to a cluster of 2 m long stone carvings consisting of three faces. These faces wear earrings, have majestic expressions, slightly bulging eyes and wide mouths with exposed teeth, according to Professor Shao Jing at the Shaanxi Institute of Archeology, vice-captain of the Shi Mao excavation team.
According to Professor Shao Jing, deputy head of the archeology team of the Shimao excavation team, among the largest sculptures found at this ancient pyramid, it is noteworthy that a figure carved into the rock can be found. portrait of a king.
Shao and his colleagues believe that the face with the “arc pattern outside the eye” depicts a king. “The eastern face seems to be in the center of the cluster and may be the portrait of the king of Thach Mao,” he said.
The figure is part of a 2m long stone sculpture consisting of 3 faces. Two of them have been completely excavated by experts. Faces wearing earrings, formal expressions, slightly bulging eyes and wide mouths with exposed teeth.
The Shi Mao pyramid is likely to have links with other fallen civilizations around the world, according to Professor Sun Zhouyong at the Shaanxi Institute of Archeology, who led the archaeological team. “The ruins include ancient stone structures rarely seen in China, still-standing city walls and a high stone platform for the imperial palace. It has much in common with the background city of Mohenjo-Daro. Harappan culture in the Indus valley (in present-day Pakistan), and the city of Ur in Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq)”, he said.
The face in the west is about 80 cm long, 50 cm high, the head is crowned. This is the largest of the rock carvings at the pyramids of Shimao.
Thach Mao artifacts, such as jade and musical instruments, are also found in more than 100 other places around the world. This suggests that there may be frequent exchanges with other cultures. “It is likely that there was an effective network of communication between elites in the ancient world more than 4,000 years ago” Sun said.
Professor Shao and his team believe that the other portrait is an image of a king. This is because the face to the east that has been excavated appears to be at the center of the sculpture and may be the image of an ancestral Shimao king.
Experts say that the stone carvings at the Shimao pyramid were created by the ancients with the idea that carving images of kings or aristocrats would help protect this palace.
The pyramid of Shimao is more than 70m high, equivalent to half the height of the pyramids in Egypt built at the same time. According to Professor Sun Zhouyong – leader of the Shimao archeology team, the pyramid of Shimao was built before the Xia Dynasty (2070 BC – 1600 BC) was established.
Unlike many pyramids that are mainly used for religious purposes, at the top of the Shimao pyramid is a palace that stretches over 80,000 square meters.
Inside the palace, experts discovered several intricate structures including a crocodile pond in the garden. Shimao overlooks a large walled city.
DNA analysis of the remains found here shows that most of the residents here are Chinese. However, the identity of the ruling class is still a mystery as the ancient civilization seems to have disappeared suddenly 3,800 years ago and left no information behind.
