Zorküt Ancient City
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卓尔库特古城遗址 | |
 Interactive map of Zorküt Ancient City | |
| Alternative name | Zhuó'ěrkǔtè Ancient City Ruins; Zorküt Ancient City Ruins (Uyghur: زوركۈت قەدىمىي شەھىرى خارابىسى, Zorküt qedimiy shehiri xarabisi) |
|---|---|
| Location | Luntai County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China |
| Coordinates | 41°45′N 84°45′E / 41.750°N 84.750°E |
| Type | Ancient walled city |
| Area | Outer city approx. 330,000 m² |
| History | |
| Founded | Late Warring States period |
| Abandoned | Wei–Jin period |
| Periods | Late Warring States to Wei–Jin |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruins |
Zorküt Ancient City (Chinese: 卓尔库特古城遗址; pinyin: Zhuó'ěrkǔtè gǔchéng yízhǐ; Uyghur: زوركۈت قەدىمىي شەھىرى خارابىسى, Zorküt qedimiy shehiri xarabisi), also referred to as Zhuó'ěrkǔtè Ancient City Ruins, is an archaeological site in Luntai County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. The city was constructed in the late Warring States period and abandoned during the Wei–Jin period. As of 2020, it is the highest-grade central site known along the northern edge of the Tarim Basin for that era. In October 2019, the site was listed among the Eighth Batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in China.
The Zorküt Ancient City Ruins lie about 24 km southeast of the modern county seat of Luntai County, situated in a desert area where red willow (Tamarix) is common around the site. Approximately 2 km to the east is the Kizil Valley (克孜勒沟); it is under 12 km from another nationally protected site, the Kuonaxie Haier Ancient City (阔纳协海尔古城), and about 10 km from the Kuiyuke Xiehaier Ancient City (奎玉克协海尔古城).[1]
The site exhibits a rare three-tiered city layout in Xinjiang and Central Asia: an outer city, a middle (inner) city, and a high-platform citadel within. The outermost enclosure covers approximately 330,000 m²; traces of its walls remain on the inner side.[1] The middle enclosure (first surveyed) is an irregular circular shape with a perimeter of about 1,250 m; a modern irrigation channel now crosses through it, and due to the low-lying terrain the site often collects water. The inner city walls have collapsed into earthen embankments; the northern section is incomplete. Wall bases vary from 3 m to 6 m in width and stand 1.5–2.5 m high. The ancient gate passage is at the southwest corner, about 10 m wide.
On the east side of the inner city is a projecting high platform up to 9 m tall;[2] on top of which there is a walled enclosure with internal house remains forming the third-tier citadel. The base of this citadel wall reaches 25 m in width; multiple construction phases are evident, corresponding to the Warring States–Western Han, Eastern Han, and Wei–Jin periods. Gate passages about 8 m wide exist on its east and west sides. The citadel is elongated north–south. Within, a central north–south main wall divides two halves; houses are built along this main wall, with the central area higher and slopes to north and south. Excavated single-house remains here are among the largest in Xinjiang when first uncovered. Dwellings are primarily earthen rafters-and-purlin structures; outside the citadel walls there are ancillary timber-frame sheds. Additionally, in the southern part of the inner city is an earthen platform with a circumference of about 70 m and residual height around 4 m. About 300 m northeast of the city is another residential site measuring roughly 33 m by 35 m, about 4 m high. Pottery sherds, and animal bones (camel, horse, cattle, sheep), iron implements, stone tools, bone artifacts, etc., have been recovered here.[1]