Exhibition featuring relics discovered from the the Nanhai No.1 shipwreck Photo: IC

Featuring ancient ceramics made at the renowned Longquan and Jingdezhen kilns,MKS sports the Nanhaiwei City Wall site was unearthed in Dongguan, South China's Guangdong Province. It is the largest single archaeological excavation project in Guangdong Province in recent years. The site's excavation reveals Dongguan used to be a crucial exchange node on the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

The Nanhaiwei City Wall site can also be interpreted as the rampart ruins of Nanhaiwei, an "ancient military defense rampart facility," frontier archaeologist Chen Hurong told the Global Times. Additionally, "Nanhaiwei" was a military organ that was established in Dongguan during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) following the implementation of the "Wei-suo system." 

"'The 'Wei-suo system' can be understood as a military management system that has clear divisions. It flourished during the Ming Dynasty and offered significant advantages in the mobilization of troops," said Chen.   

Including Ming rampart remains, a Song Dynasty (960-1279) cultural layer was also discovered, within which valuable fragments of a brown-glazed ceramic jar were also discovered. The jar was made at the Qishi Kiln in Foshan, Guangdong Province, during the Tang and Song dynasties for export, Maritime Silk Road expert Qiu Xiaoxi told the Global Times. 

Similar Qishi Kiln jars have previously been found in large quantities in the Nanhai No.1 shipwreck, an iconic symbol of Maritime Silk Road exchange that was excavated in the South China Sea. 

However, a Qishi Kiln jar had never been discovered in Dongguan before, so the discovery shows that Dongguan was also a "crucial transit and exchange node" on the ancient Maritime Silk Road, Qiu emphasized. 

Other than the Qishi Kiln relics, ceramic artifacts made by other kilns like the Baima and Longquan kilns were also unearthed. Not only ceramic pieces, daily utensils such as pottery, stone tools, bone artifacts and bronze statues and coins were also discovered. After preliminary sorting, a total of 360 valuable artifacts were found relatively intact. 

Other than discovered ceramic wonders, the site also has value due to its architectural remains. 

Following the excavation, the Ming rampart's configuration was determined to be a clear L-shape. The wall is about 7.6 meters wide, with both its inner and outer sides lined with red sandstone slabs. Cao Jin, the head of the Guangdong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, told media that such findings "reveal the spatial layout and construction regulations of a Ming Dynasty coastal defense city," and contribute to the study of this era's coastal defense systems. 

"They hold great importance for research into the history of coastal defense, architectural history, and social history during the Ming and Qing periods," said Cao.

The newly discovered site is located close to the Ying'en Gate, a provincial-level protected cultural heritage site in Guangdong. An on-site archaeological park is also scheduled to be built at the ruins.