Location China Cultures Qijia | Management Lajia Site Museum | |
Events EarthquakeMudslideFlood Excavation dates 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 | ||
Lajia (Chinese: 喇家; Pinyin: Lǎjiā) is an archaeological site located in Minhe County, Haidong Prefecture in Northwest China's Qinghai province. Lajia is associated with the Qijia culture and was discovered by archaeologists in 2000. The site covers an area of around 200,000 square meters.
In 2002, the oldest intact noodles yet discovered were located at Lajia, estimated at over 4,000 years old. The noodles were made from foxtail and broom millet.
Disasters
Archaeologists think the site was abandoned after being devastated by an earthquake and subsequent flood.
In 2000, Bronze Age buildings were found destroyed by a mudslide that had been triggered by an earthquake in the north-east part of the site. 14 people had apparently taken refuge inside two of these buildings. The skeletons of the victims were preserved in situ and were displayed as found in the Lajia Museum in 2015.
Red soils brought by the Yellow River flooding were also found in the site's north-east.
