This aerial photo taken in August 2023 shows a view of the ancient stone city site of what is today known as Qingshuihe County in Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

Remains of a housing cluster dating back to more than 4,000 ago have been unearthed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The cluster was discovered at the ancient stone city site of what is today known as Qingshuihe County. These remains feature a house at the center with five rooms in a row, which are believed to have been high-level buildings of the Longshan Culture, a civilization found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River between 2,800 B.C. and 1,800 B.C.

According to Sun Jinsong, head of the regional cultural relics and archaeology research institute who led the archaeological team, the walls of these houses were made of rammed earth, while the floor and walls were covered with white plaster.

In the yard where the house was situated, archaeologists found remains of stone walls and foundations of other houses. They also recovered a large number of pottery pieces, animal bones and a few stoneware items.

The stone city site covered about 1.38 million square meters. Longshan Culture was named after a township in east China's Shandong Province, where traces of this culture were first discovered. Sun noted that the latest discovery provides new evidence for the study of the formation and development of early cities in northern parts of China.

This photo taken in September 2023 shows a cultural relic unearthed from Qingshuihe County, Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)