Royal Palace of Nanyue Kingdom (Materials for the Educational Course “Archaeology of Foreign Asia”)

Abstract

Purpose is to present a description of the complex of archaeological sites associated with the palace complex of the Nanyue kingdom, and thereby emphasize the importance of regional centers in the formation of Chinese civilization and attract the attention to understudied topics. Results. The palace district in the capital of the Nanyue kingdom was located on the territory of Yuexiu district in Guangzhou, covering an area of approx. 400 000 sq. m. The complex included the remains of various buildings, household and waist pits, wells, a palace park with a pond and an artificial meandering stream. The nature of some earlier finds remains unclear (stilt dwellings or shipbuilding workshop). The palace complex was built no earlier than the 170s BC and existed until the fall of Nanyue in 111 BC. The palace park is one of the oldest monuments of landscape art in China; it probably served not only as a place for recreation and entertainment, but also as a space for ritual ceremonies.Conclusion. In matters of organizing the space of the palace district, the Nanyue elites were guided by the standards adopted in the capitals of the Qin and Han empires, adapting them to local conditions. The studied archaeological complexes demonstrate a high level of production technologies, urban planning and landscape art. One of the most promising areas of research is the analysis of the semantics of the spatial organization and architectural objects of the palace park.