Summary of Hunan Archaeological Discoveries in 2011

DATE:02-02-2012

 

   

The Working Meeting of Hunan Archaeology & Cultural Relics Protection was held on January 8 in Changsha. In 2011, Hunan archaeology and cultural relics protection has achieved substantial achievements, surveying and exploring areas of 150,000 square meters, excavating areas of 15,000 square meters and unearthing over 10,000 pieces of cultural relics. At the meeting, archaeological experts reported on some important archaeological discoveries, including the archaeological excavation of the East Pailou (decorated archway) and the block crossing Chaozong Street in Changsha, the archaeological survey and excavation of the Daohe River Valley, a tributary of the Lishui River, and the Qixingdun Site in Huarong County, Yueyang City.

               

                                                      Changsha Ancient City Wall 

The most important archaeological excavation in the East Pailou reveals a palace base of the Ming Dynasty, and a 70-meter-long, 5-meter-wide street of the Song Dynasty, Moreover, more than 600 ancient wells were found and hundreds of bamboo slips were unearthed from the ancient wells. In addition，the city walls of the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty excavated in Chaozong Street prove Changsha as a historical and cultural city.

                                                

Tiaotougang Site: abundant stone leaves unearthed in south China for the first time

In April and August of 2011, about 6000 various stone products were unearthed in the 30-square-meters excavated area in the Tiaotougang Site. It is the first time to discover such a dense distribution of stone products in Hunan. Such a huge amount of unearthed slakes are rare in China, and it is the first time to discover a large number of stone leaves in south China.

 

Dajing Lake Area: another prehistoric settlement cluster

From May to July last year, the Archaeological Institute of Yueyang City conducted archaeological excavations in the Qixingdun Site, revealing a number of ruins and abundant historical remains including pottery, stone tools. A rough observation indicates that there should once be a large ancient cultural settlement cluster in the Dajing Lake during the late Neolithic age, and the Qixingdun Sitewas very likely the center of this cluster.

Shanlonggang Archeological Site: Hunan might be the place where rice cultivation started

In the Shanlonggang archeological site in Linli County in the city of Changde, some carbonized paddy rice dating back more than 8,000 years were discovered. Chinese and US scientists concluded that rice cultivation may have started in east China's Hunan province.The archaeological excavation started November 1, and is jointly conducted by experts from the Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Harvard University, Peking University and Boston University.Ofer Bar-yosef, a professor from Harvard University, said if the newly discovered paddy can be proved to have been cultivated, it would be the oldest such rice discovered to date.Besides the rice, some other objects, including stoneware, pottery and animal bones, have also been also unearthed at the site.

Mound Tombs in Nanping Township: new archaeological finds in inland region

From 2010 to 2011, the Changde Museum conducted an archaeological excavation for emergency rescue in Nanping Township for nearly two years, cleaning up five sealed mounds and 21 mound tombs dating back from the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC–8 AD) to the Wang Mang New Period (8 AD-23 AD). Mound tombs are common in the southeast coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, and had never been seen inland before. The mound tombs in Nanping Township, Changde City, were new finds of its kind in inland region of China.

Source: enghunan.gov.cn