Excavation
of Huangzhong Village Site
From December 1995 to April 1996, Chengdu Archeology
Institute of Cultural Relics conducted exploration and
archaeological excavat
ions
of Huangzhong District in the Huangzhong Village. The
exploration covers an area of about 700 square meters
and a large number of pottery were unearthed, of which
cups with pointed bottom and the long-necked tank are
the representative ones. Discoveries from this site can
date back to the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western
Zhou Dynasty. The Huangzhong Village, therefore, is a
typical site of cultural relics of the Shang&Zhou
period.
From June 1999 to April 2000, a large-scale archaeological
excavation was carried out in Sanhe Garden of the village
with the total exploration area of 2026 square meters.
This area particularly abounds in archaeological sites
of great cultural heritage. Totally 17 sites of Housing
Blocks, 17 sites of Kilns, more than 300 hoards and 13
burial sites were found.
From July to Sepember 2000, another site Jindu Gardon
of the Huang Zhong village was excavated. The excavations
expanded an area of about 500 square meters but cultural
heritage here is relatively less and only a small number
of Kilns, hoards and burials relics were unearthed together
with limited numbers of pottery. All these relics are
supposed to be existing in the late Shang Dynasty to the
early Western Zhou Dynasty.
The three explorations have led archaeologists to decide
that the Huangzhong Village should be one of the typical
cultural ruins of the 12-bridge Relics. The whole district
amounts to about 1 square kilometer. Roughly It had coincided
the period of the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western
Zhou Dynasty. All signs indicate that the site may be
part of the relatively high-grade large palace architecture
of Jinsha ruins.
Archaeological excavations
of the northeast part of the Meiyuan Site
The Meiyuan Site is located to south side of the Modi
River and west of Qingyang Road with a land area of about
220,000 square meters. It has been confirmed t
hrough
exploration that the area of cultural heritage reaches
about 80,000 square meters. From February to June 2001,
Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology conducted
archaeological excavations of the Regional Center. A total
of 145 exploration sites of 3,625 square meters have beendetermined.
So far, the excavation has come to the 8th layer. From
the relics unearthed, the 5th layer could be traced into
the Spring and Autumn Period, and the 6th and 7th layers
to the Western Zhou Dynasty. From the stratigraphic section
mechanically excavated, stratum of the region is about
4.5 meterst thick, and cultural heritage accumulation
can be divided into at least 16 layers. More than 700
precious pieces made of jade, bronze, gold and fortune-telling
tortoise-shells were unearthed from the Western Zhou Dynasty
layer. Besides, a large number of pottery and ivory were
also unearthed. Three kinds of remains of extraordinary
significance had been found in the region. The first is
the ivory pit where several hundred ivory piling up with
some jades and bronzes. The second covers about 300 square
meters and mainly of half-finished stone pieces and stone
tablets which were piled up in inclination into layers.
And in the last pit, which covers about 300 square meters,
concentrated pieces of wild boar fangs, deer antlers,
ivory and pretty stones. All of the three pits of relics
may have to do with religious activities.
Archaeological excavations
of the northeast part of the Lanyuan Site
This site is situated in central and southern Jinsha
ruins with the cultural heritage area of about
20,000 square meters. From July 2001 to January 2002,
Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology conducted
a large scale archaeological excavations of the cultural
heritage area. A total of 512 exploration sites of 12,800square
meters have been determined. A large number of architectural
ruins, pottery soil, rows of kilns, more than 400 hoards,
over 80 tombs and 1 pottery kiln were discovered and thousands
of potsherds and pottery, and a small number of jade,
bronze, gold pieces and so on were unearthed. Remains
of this site can be retraced to the late Shang dynasty.
All signs indicate that cultural heritage district in
the Lanyuan Site might be living areas and small burial
area.
Archaeological
excavations of the Sports Park
The Sports Park arrives at the Modi River in the north,
the Lanyuan Site in the south and the noth part of the
Meiyuan Site in the east with the cultural heritage area
of about 36,000 square meters. From October to November
2000, Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
conducted the trial excavation of two locations within
the region which covers an area of 162 square meters.
Housing blocks, pottery soil and 13 graves were unearthed.
All of the 13 graves concentrated in the 81-square-meter
area which have been tentatively confirmed as the second
funeral. Burial objects have been found in three of them
including jade and pottery devices. According to the pottery
burials, the tombs mightbe built in the early period of
Western Zhou Dynasty. Considered the housing sites and
the broken cultural layer, the burial site might be originally
a living area which was used for burial only after being
abandoned.