14 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

3D printing technology was used for the restored relic restoration of an ancient palace in Liangzhu Archaeological Site

Six rebuilt massive wooden pillars of an old palace have been exposed to the public for the first time at the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in east China’s Zhejiang Province.

The pillars on display are made by 3D printers and are high-tech full-scale replicas of 5000-year-old parts unearthed from the archaeological site of the ancient city that existed between 3300 BC. And 2300 BC.

At the 5,300-year-old archaeological site, 15 massive timber components were discovered in the watercourses. The finding demonstrated that humans living during the period were capable of constructing large-scale buildings such as palaces more than 5,000 years ago.

The longest component on display is 17.2 meters and the thickest is 80 centimeters in diameter.

Details of the wooden components on display during the Liangzhu Cultural week in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.Photo: China News
Details of the wooden components on display during the Liangzhu Cultural week in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province.Photo: China News

Some of the components have square holes called mortises, which are significant architectural structures used to join two timber elements in traditional Chinese architecture.

In a statement to CGTN, Sun Haibo, deputy director of the Cultural Relics and Heritage Administration at the Liangzhu Archaeological Site Management Bureau, noted that wooden components may have been used during its construction to strengthen the palace’s solidity. They could also be parts of the building blocks of the palace, such as beams or pillars.” he said.

Visitors look at the wooden components on display during the Liangzhu Cultural week in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. Photo: China News
Visitors look at the wooden components on display during the Liangzhu Cultural week in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. Photo: China News

The components required several years of dehydration treatment. The exhibits are almost indistinguishable from the original ones in appearance.

“This is our first time to use 3D printing technology for relic restoration. Visitors will be able to look closely at the components and imagine what the palace would have looked like 5,000 years ago,” said Sun.

The new technology can protect the cultural relics from the damage caused during the mold reversal and demolding process.

The wooden components are on display as part of the Liangzhu Cultural Week from July 6 to 12. 

Related Articles

A 5,000-year-old large house has been discovered in China’s Yangshao Village

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology archaeologists have excavated the ruins of house foundations dating back more than...

Ancient necropolis of stillborn babies and very young children found in Auxerre, France

8 June 2024

8 June 2024

A team from INRAP, France’s national archaeology and preservation agency, unearthed a necropolis dedicated to stillborn and very young children...

A Remarkable Underground City Discovered Beneath Historic Yazd Homes in Central Iran

26 January 2025

26 January 2025

A remarkable ‘underground city’ was discovered under five historical houses in the ancient town of Abarkuh in Yazd province in...

Ancient Mesopotamians bred horse-like hybrids

17 January 2022

17 January 2022

New research finds that Mesopotamians were utilizing hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to drive their war wagons 4,300...

Illegal digs reveal rare Roman-era mass grave in Turkey

28 July 2022

28 July 2022

A total of 27 skeletons were found in a burial pit carved into the rocks in Adıyaman province, an important...

History of 8,500 years waits for a museum

19 June 2023

19 June 2023

The conservation process of the Yenikapı shipwrecks, which were discovered during the Marmaray project and considered the largest collection of...

First Visual Evidence of the Milky Way Found in Ancient Egyptian Cosmological Vignettes

1 May 2025

1 May 2025

Did ancient Egyptians gaze upon the Milky Way and immortalize its form in their artwork? New research suggests this very...

A 12.000 -year-old temple was found during excavations in Boncuklu Tarla in southeastern Turkey

21 October 2021

21 October 2021

A temple thought to be 12 thousand years old was unearthed in Boncuklu Tarla in the Ilısu Neighborhood of Dargeçit...

Relief masks discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Kastabala

7 January 2022

7 January 2022

In the ancient city of Kastabala (Castabala), which dates back to 500 BC, located in Turkey’s southern province of Osmaniye,...

Undeciphered Rongorongo Script from Easter Island may Predate European Colonization

12 February 2024

12 February 2024

From the depths of history, a wooden tablet bearing the mysterious “rongorongo” script has been unearthed from the small, remote...

Roman-era structures unearthed in northwestern Turkiye dam site rescue excavations

18 May 2024

18 May 2024

Rescue excavations at the Reşitköy Dam site in the northwestern Turkiye province of Balıkesir have unearthed Roman structures, including a...

19 funerary tombs from Roman times were discovered in Tartus, Syria

27 May 2022

27 May 2022

During search and excavation operations in the archaeological area of Amrit in Tartus, Syria, a joint excavation team from the...

Evidence of a Roman shrine dating back was discovered during dig at Leicester Cathedral

7 March 2023

7 March 2023

Excavations by the University of Leicester archaeologists for have uncovered evidence that the site of Leicester Cathedral has been used...

A previously unknown subterranean tract of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples

4 February 2023

4 February 2023

A previously unknown subterranean tract nearly half a mile long of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples, southern...

Archaeologists discover a well-planned new urban precinct in the Egyptian settlement of Marea

2 August 2021

2 August 2021

Archaeologists excavating the ancient port settlement and cemetery of Marea in Egypt have revealed that a significant part of the...