New Discoveries from the Excavation on Zhuyaling City Site in Haikou, Hainan Province, China

WEI Weiyan

The Zhuyaling City Site is located in Haikou City, Hainan Province, China, covering an area of approximately 0.3 square kilometres and dating from the 8th to the 10th century AD. It is situated on a high terrace on the western bank of the Nandu River, with terrain sloping from northwest to southeast. The eastern edge of the terrace rises about 20 meters above the river surface. The site is nearly square in plan, with a perimeter of approximately 715 meters. The city walls on all four sides remain largely intact, with traces of corner platforms visible. A suspected city gate is located in the middle of the southern wall. In 2022 and 2024, Sun Yat-sen University conducted two seasons of archaeological excavation at the site, uncovering large-scale building foundations as well as associated features such as roads, drainage ditches, and postholes. A substantial quantity of ceramic building components, along with pottery, porcelain, and iron artifacts, were also unearthed. This paper presents the major discoveries from the Zhuyaling site and discusses the application of multidisciplinary methods, including digital techniques and remote sensing, in the excavation of historical urban sites.