Huanbei

Huanbei

洹北
Shown within China
Location	China
Region	Henan
Coordinates
Type	walled city
Area	510 ha
History
Founded	c. 1350 BCE
Abandoned	c. 1300 BCE

Huanbei (Chinese: 洹北; pinyin: Huánběi) is the site of an ancient Shang dynasty city on the northern outskirts of the modern city of Anyang in Henan province, China. It was discovered in 2000, and dates to the Middle Shang period (ca. 1450-1250 B.C.). The name refers to its position to the north (běi) of the Huan River.

The discovery was made after a regional survey undertaken in 1999 by the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Minnesota.

This huge ancient city was buried eight feet beneath the surface when found. The city has walls of pounded earth forming an approximate square oriented 13 degrees east of north, with an area of 470 hectares (1,200 acres), including a palace-temple complex of 41 hectares (100 acres). Part of the site lies under Anyang's airport, limiting the scope of excavations.

The city seems to have been burnt to the ground after 50 years of occupation, shortly before the construction of the last Shang dynasty capital at the site now known as Yinxu across the river.

The city has since been excavated by joint teams from Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin and the University of British Columbia.