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Yangma wall (yangmacheng 羊馬城) literally meaning “goat and horse fortification,” first appeared in Tang dynasty records and then also in Song dynasty textual sources. It refers to a wall built either between the city wall and the moat or around a beacon tower. It is usually smaller than the city wall. The yangma wall forms a closed circle around the city wall or the beacon tower, or may be located in certain parts of the city wall to form a closed circle together with the city wall. Yangma wall serves as a defensive line between the city wall and the moat in order to prevent the enemy from invading. It was also used for the temporary placement of goats, sheep, and horses when residents outside the city entered the city for protection. A second term, yangmaqiang 羊馬墻, literally meaning “goat and horse wall” also survives in
Judging from the remains of fortifications excavated by archaeologists, the earliest known yangmacheng is located at the site of Luotuocheng 駱駝城 in Gaotai County, Gansu Province. Scholars believe that the site might have been constructed in the Former Liang period (320-376) of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Most of the known remains of yangmacheng date to the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the ancient city of Beiting, built in the Tang Dynasty and located in Xinjiang province, the yangmacheng was constructed between the north side of the north wall of the outer city and the south bank of the moat, and it adopts a nearly rectangular plane. Yangmacheng are rare in the
羊馬城,亦稱羊馬墻,指中國古代修築於城墻與護城河之間,或烽火臺周邊的墻體。其墻體尺度小於城墻,環繞城墻或烽火臺一周,或設於城墻局部與城墻共同形成閉合的城圈。羊馬城是城墻與護城河之間阻擋敵人進攻的一重防線,同時也可供城外居民在撤入城內時暫時安置羊馬之用。
“羊馬城”最早出现于
考古已知最早羊馬城遺跡為甘肅高臺縣駱駝城址,學者考證可能於前涼時期即修築(李 2002,79-81)。現發現的羊馬城遺址大多數為唐宋時期修築,遺跡比較完整的如唐代新疆吉木薩爾北庭古城(孫 1982,165-175,233-235)。
甕城 wèngchéng
羊馬垣 yángmǎyuán
牛馬墻 niúmǎqiáng
養馬墻 yǎngmǎqiáng