TAIYUAN, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists have unearthed 12 house ruins sites dating back to 4,300 to 4,800 years ago in the city of Lyuliang, north China's Shanxi Province, according to the provincial institute of archaeology.

The sites are part of the Xinyi relics, which are located in northern Xinyi Village of Lishi District with an area of some 400,000 square meters.

From March to August, archaeologists conducted excavations in the area for a road construction project.

Five pits and one pottery kiln dating back to the same period were found during the excavation, and another set of house ruins that belongs to the Longshan Culture, a late Neolithic civilization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, was also unearthed, said Zhao Hui, who heads the excavation project with the institute.

The findings have provided new research materials to study the cultural exchanges between the central and northern parts of China in prehistoric times, as well as the spatial distribution of different architectural modes, Zhao said.