Builders have stumbled across a gateway to “Maritime Silk Road” that’s filled to the brim with ancient relics.

       The archaeologists discovered this Lost City which is said to be the oldest city in southern China.

       The Niuluchong Site is found in the Gongcheng Yao county located near the city of Guilin.

       It was first discovered by builders back in 2022 during a development on untouched land with unearthed broken pottery and patterned bricks being discovered too.

       This discovery comes after a student accidentally discovered another ancient city found in south Mexico whilst scrolling Google.

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       The discovery is the earliest found so far in southern China, dating a whopping 3,000 years to the early Shang dynasty.

       Among the discoveries, defensive double walls and moats were also uncovered at the site in the ancient region of Lignan.

       Archaeologists also found other structural remains at the site including cultural relics including stone tools and pottery and also pillar holes and ash pits.

       “[The site] is about 165 metres (541ft) long from north to south and 140 metres long from east to west, with a total area of 23,100 square metres (75,790 sq ft),” said excavation team leader, He Anyi in an interview with CCTV.

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       He added: “The north and west walls of the entire city site are well preserved, among which the west wall is the best prese

       The settlement is known to be the earliest known civilization in the area and is said to be the base point for the Maritime Silk Road.

       It was clear this ancient city was incredibly old by the initial excavations in April which suggested the site dated between the late Neolithic period and the Shang dynasty.

       After a three month “rescue dig” which ended in September, it's finally been revealed just how old this city is after the sites age was officially confirmed.

       The region of Lingnan is thought to have spanned the south coast of China, across the modern provinces of Hainan, Guangxi and Guangdong.

       Lingnan was the starting point for the Maritime Silk Road which flourished for 1,500 years from the Han to Ming dynasties, connecting China with coastal states in Asia and Africa, according to the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

       Lingnan’s rich historical and rich cultural heritages includes ethnic groups who lived in what is now known as southern China and northern Vietnam in the first millennium BC and were known as the Baiyue ethnic group.

       Continued excavation will take place on the site with more remains hoping to be found by the team, said He, which includes items such as carbonised rice grains.

       Items which are “severely rusted” will also be analysed in a laboratory by the archeologists with one ancient relic that’s a bronze artefact and is believed to be a sword.