A team of archaeologists from China who specialize in the study of ancient water management systems discovered the earliest ceramic pipe drainage system ever found on Chinese soil.

This marvel of prehistoric engineering was unearthed during excavations at a long-deserted Neolithic settlement known as Pingliangtai in the Henan Province of North Central China.

The construction of the drainage system, which included a vast network of interconnected ditches and a huge moat in addition to the underground pipes, is believed to have taken place between 2,100 and 1,900 BC.

This construction of such a complex water management system was necessary to allow the community of Pingliangtai to exist.

Through an examination of 4,200-year-old sediment samples, the Chinese archaeologists found evidence of extremely heavy and potentially catastrophic rainfall events that took place at that time, confirming that flooding would have been a huge issue in the region in the late Neolithic just as it is now.

Source: Oman News Agency