It is arguably the largest pyramid in the world and has a fascinating past. It was not only a burial place, but also a place of residence and work, as well as a place for ritual actions, including human sacrifices.
Archaeologists have excavated a 4,300-year-old city in China, discovering unusual finds. Their results are published in the journal Antiquity.
Pyramid with eye symbols
The ancient city of Simao has a massive stepped pyramid with a height of at least 70 meters and an area of 24 hectares, which corresponds to a side of almost 500 meters. Its walls were decorated with symbols of eyes, as well as the faces of animals or people. These figures "endowed the stepped pyramid with special religious power and further enhanced the overall visual impression," archaeologists say.
For five centuries, the city flourished around this pyramid. According to archaeologists, at the best of times, it occupied an area of 400 hectares, making it one of the largest in the world. Today the ruins of the Neolithic city are called "Simao", but their ancient name is unknown.
The pyramid consists of 11 steps, each of which is faced with stones. On the upper level were "vast palaces, a giant reservoir of water, and the amenities of everyday life," it goes on to say.
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Palaces for the ruler
The rulers of the city lived in the palaces, art and craft products were produced very close to them. “The findings indicate that the pyramid complex was not only a living space for the ruling elite of Simao, but also a place of handicraft production,” archaeologists write.
The townspeople erected a series of stone walls and gates around the pyramid and around the city. “The entrance to the step pyramid had intricate defensive walls that were designed to provide both protection and very limited access,” the scientists say.
In addition, archaeologists have found evidence of many human sacrifices in Simao: "In the outer area of the eastern gate, only the outer wall were found six pits with decapitated people."
View of the Simao walls.
Human sacrifices and jade to protect the city?
Some of the victims may have been from another location called Zhukaigu, north of Simao. Researchers suspect that the residents of Simao may have taken over their neighbors' lands.
Morphological analysis of the human remains suggests that the victims are associated with the inhabitants of Chjukaigu. This, in turn, could mean that they were brought to the city as prisoners after invasion raids.
In addition, according to archaeologists, people in all buildings drove jade artifacts into the internodes of the blocks. "Jade objects and human sacrifices probably filled the walls of Shimao with ritual and religious powers."