Research on the Excavations of the Helv City (Part 1)

Helv City was the capital city of the 24th ruler of the Wu Kingdom, King Helv of Wu. Helv was a hero of the late Spring and Autumn period. In 515 BC, he ordered the warrior Zhuan Zhu to assassinate his cousin, King Liao of Wu, with the Yu Chang sword and ascended to the throne. He recruited talents, valued the livelihood of the people, was strict with himself, and diligently governed, enabling the rapid rise of the Wu Kingdom. He also adopted Wu Zixu's suggestion to "build city walls, set up defenses, fill granaries, and govern armories," and appointed Wu Zixu to build Helv City. After the King of Wu moved the capital, "the chariots marched to Lu, the western expedition reached Ba and Shu, and the north pressed against Qi and Jin, enforcing the laws throughout China" (Lüshi Chunqiu), the territory expanded twentyfold, achieving the hegemony of a generation. Helv City is located at the western end of the eighteen bays of Taihu Lake, at the junction of Wuxi and Wujin (under Changzhou) at the mouth of the Lü River. It was built between 515 BC and 496 BC in the late Spring and Autumn period, more than 2500 years ago. It was announced as a key cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province in 1956, and was included in the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in the Nation" in 2008. With the changes in history and the passage of time, Helv City has been destroyed, but the outlines of the east and west city gates are clear, and the ruined walls still stand.

Helv City consists of two parts: the inner and outer cities. The outer city is approximately 2100 meters east-west and 1400 meters north-south, covering an area of 2.94 square kilometers. The outer city walls have completely disappeared. Through exploration, a 34-meter-wide foundation of light yellow clay was discovered at the southwest corner of Helv City. The environment outside the city still exists, but after dredging and widening, it is no longer its original appearance. The inner city is located in the northwest of the outer city, with a length of about 1300 meters from east to west and a width of about 500 meters from north to south, covering an area of 0.65 square kilometers. A wall divides the inner city into two smaller cities, east and west, with the west being larger than the east. The west city is about 680 meters long from east to west and 340 meters wide from north to south, divided into north and south districts. The east city is about 350 meters long from east to west and 340 meters wide from north to south, roughly square in shape. Some remains are left in the inner city, and the roughly identifiable ones include more than 1200 meters of city walls. The wall foundation is about 15-20 meters wide, and the remaining height is 2-3 meters, distributed on the south, west, and north sides. There is no city wall on the east side, but there is a "Zhihu Port" about 40 meters wide. Outside the city walls, there is a moat 6-10 meters wide. The moat has been silted up, but the faint lines are still discernible. In the south district of the west city, there are 4 large building sites, all facing west, including a particularly large building about 70 meters long and 35 meters wide. Folk legends say it was an armory or a reviewing stand. Only one well is found in the east district. There is a land gate between the east and west cities, and a section of road about 10 meters long. There is a land gate between the north and south districts of the west city, and two water gates at the south wall, with two rows of wooden piles remaining.