A well-preserved Neolithic settlement site has been discovered in east China's Shandong Province, local archaeological authorities said.

The provincial cultural heritage administration said the site was found near Ximengzhuang Village in the city of Tengzhou, and an excavation of the site has been launched.

Archaeologists said the settlement was part of the Longshan culture, a late Neolithic civilization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

So far, two foundation trenches of walls, 15 housing sites, 21 pits, one tomb and a low-lying area have been found. Archaeologists believe that those pits were built in the middle of the Longshan culture period and the rest of the findings were built during the earlier part of the period.

"These newly found round pits used to be the foundations for building circular walls. Back then, people planted pillars into these pits as the walls' support structure. What's more, these pits are regularly distributed, with about one such pit every 50 centimeters. "Mei Yuanyuan, staff member of Shandong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology said.

"In retrospect, we got to know Longshan culture through these large-scale city ruins. This site is not big, but its structure is pretty clear. This excavation is a good supplement to our knowledge of the settlement form and social structure of Longshan culture. It's a significant find."

But how do archaeologists judge the age of the ruins? 

Mei Yuanyuan said, "Through the relics we unearth, like this tripod. This tripod was used for cooking and made during the early period of Longshan culture. Plain color, shovel-shaped legs and simply folded round edge are its typical features. While this one, according to its leg shaped like a bird's head, we know it was made nearly the mid-term of Longshan culture."

The Longshan culture, also known as the Black Pottery Culture, was a late Neolithic culture in the middle and lower Yellow River valley regions of northern China dating back about 4,000 years. The first archaeological discovery of this culture took place at the Chengziya Archaeological Site in 1928. The culture is named after the neighboring town of Longshan in Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province.

(With inputs from Xinhua.)