Archaeologists in Shandong Province have excavated a massive stone-fortified granary belonging to the Neolithic Longshan Culture, dating back roughly 4,000 years. The structure features a unique double-walled design with a pest-resistant interior lining made of a specialized mixture of red clay and crushed oyster shells, which served to keep the stored millet dry and secure from rodents.
This coastal facility suggests that the Longshan people had developed a centralized grain-storage system capable of supporting large populations and long-distance maritime exchange. The China Academy of Social Sciences hailed the find as a critical piece of evidence regarding the transition toward complex statehood and surplus management in early Chinese civilization.