Liangzhu - Chapter two: The Smile of the Old Lady

The archaeological site in Liangzhu, which gives the culture its name, reveals not only the existence of canals and dams but also housing structures, such as palatial buildings, economic, and residential buildings. Hierarchical differences are clearly noticeable here. The houses were built on natural or artificially raised earthen platforms. During the construction of these platforms, ash mud and mixed grass were used as a foundation, reinforced at the edges with stone slabs. Alternating layers of compacted clay and sand were placed on top. 35 such house foundations have been found in the palace area. Based on data from the earthen platforms and the findings of connection timber and wall fragments, a computer simulation has reconstructed the palace building, and I now stand in the Liangzhu Museum before a small model of a building. A palatial structure, archived as House No. 20, originally measured 23 meters in length and 15.3 meters in width. The total built area was 350 square meters. Existing column holes suggest architecture with a colonnade around the house. At the site of another palace building, archived as House No. 2, the exterior surface was paved with wooden boards, which has been applied in the model. In addition, residential houses of the common people have been reconstructed in the same way. The exhibited model represents a house of that time with whitewashed earthen walls and a living area of about 15 square meters. The settlement in Liangzhu covered about 0.4 km² of palace area, 2.6 km² of inner city area, and 3.3 km² of outer city area. The water management infrastructure identified a total settlement area of 100 km². The explanations regarding the extent and nature of the former settlement area can be found in the second exhibition hall, where I have now arrived. Immediately to the left at the entrance of the hall, the exhibition deals with road construction of that time, which features high technological construction and paved roads. Further back is a replica of an excavated well, lined with wooden planks. The spaces between the wooden planks were filled with clay shards and stones to filter the water. Excavations along former canals have also uncovered a kind of pier, with this boat landing constructed with 140 wooden piles. The water management system is now explained in detail in a video. It is the earliest scientifically planned water system known in China, involving a large number of dams and canals laid out using the natural hilly landscape. In the immediate vicinity of the city of Liangzhu, there were a total of 11 dam constructions, reflecting the high technological skills of the people at that time in the materials used. The builders used leather-wrapped mud, equivalent to today’s sandbags in dam construction, and foundations were paved and reinforced with stones, which significantly increased the stability of the dam constructions. Behind all these explanations and models at the end of the second exhibition hall, I now reach a gigantic screen projection about Liangzhu culture, and I am glad that I can sit on the wooden bench for a while and watch the presentation. After this welcome break, the focus shifts to the discovered graves, which, through their burial goods, offer important civilizational indicators. Royal and common graves can also be distinguished in this way. The female skeleton from grave M49 grins at me, although I do not know whether it is a reconstruction or truly the 5000-year-old lady. With this image of the smile, I enter the next exhibition rooms.