Modern Express News (reporters Hu Yumei and Zhang Wenying) rammed earth walls covered with clam shells; four-entry courtyards, inscription bricks... Recently, the "Liyang Regional Civilization Exploration Forum and the Fourth Phase of the Six Dynasties Archaeology Academic Workshop" jointly sponsored by the Liyang Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the School of Social Development of Nanjing Normal University was held in Liyang.
△ Aerial view of the ruins of the ancient county
During the forum, Gao Wei, deputy research librarian of Nanjing Museum, led the experts and scholars to visit the ruins of Liyang Ancient County, which are undergoing archaeological excavations. The ruins of an ancient county that "slept" for more than 1,700 years gradually became clear.
Standard Ancient County! Rammed earth walls "circle" a definite range
Liyang, the first name of the Spring and Autumn Period, was placed in Qin County. The local county chronicle of Liyang records that during the Reign of Sun Wu, Yongping County was established; in the first year of the Western Jin Dynasty, (280 AD) it was renamed Yongshi County...
More than 1700 years later, where is the ancient county seat? What was it supposed to be? The archaeologists of the Nanjing Museum have pieced together its appearance little by little through archaeology.
In 2008, during the third cultural relics census, the staff found the ruins of Guxian County, which is located in Guxian Village, Tianmuhu Town, leaning on Yanshan Mountain in the north and The Chating River in the south. "In 2018, the Nanjing Museum conducted a preliminary investigation of the site. In 2019, the ancient county village was demolished, and the Nanjing Museum conducted a comprehensive survey and exploration of the site, which initially clarified the distribution range and cultural connotation of the ancient county site. Gao Wei said that in August last year, with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the cooperation of the Liyang Museum, the Nanjing Museum officially carried out archaeological excavations of the site.
△ Rammed earth wall remains
How big is the ancient county? Gao Wei said that they found the rammed earth wall of the ancient county, through which they could "circle" the area of the county seat. Due to its age, the rammed earth walls have all been buried in the ground. Gao Wei pointed to one of the rammed earth walls and told the Modern Express reporter, "This is the north city wall, the bottom is about 10 meters wide, the upper part is about 8 meters wide, and the existing height is 1.2 meters, running east-west." ”
If you look closely, you can see the traces of rammed layers, which are covered with dots of white clamshell particles. Gao Wei explained that these rammed earth walls were built by people at that time using local materials, layer by layer of loess shell, mixed with gravel and small iron blocks.
"After excavation, we estimate that the north and south walls of the ancient county are about 138 meters long, the east and west walls are about 108 meters long, the circumference of the city site is about 492 meters, and the total area is about 12,000 square meters." Gao Wei said that it was rectangular from the air, and such an area was a standard county at that time.
Be exquisite! The layout is rounded on the outside and inside, and there are drainage ditches
What are the institutions in the ancient county? What are the unique buildings? Archaeologists have also restored it little by little.
On the northwest highlands outside the ancient county city wall, a architectural site with an outer circle and an inner square was found, and Gao Wei used a white line along the edge of the site to outline a double circular boundary line. Look closely, in the middle of the round platform, there is also a square building base.
△ The ruins of ceremonial buildings on the inside of the outer circle
What is such a relic used for? Gao Wei explained that the shape of the outer circle of the building is easy to think of the round place. "We speculate that it is related to the ritual system such as suburban worship, and it may be an altar."
On closer inspection, the altar layout is exquisite, and there are also drainage ditches and green brick paving. On the bricks used to pave, inscriptions such as "Jianwu First Year" and "Xiankang Fourth Year" can be seen. "Jianwu" is the era name of Sima Rui, the Yuan Emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and "Xiankang" is the era name of Sima Yan, the Emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Gao Wei said that based on these inscriptions, it can be speculated that the altar was from the Eastern Jin Dynasty and southern dynasties.
△ Unearthed porcelain
In addition to the altar, archaeologists also found courtyards from the same period. On the northeast side of the ancient county, archaeologists found wall foundations, pillar holes, brick paving, and excavated architectural components such as animal face patterns and lotus petal pattern tiles, inscription bricks, and partridges.
△ The remains of the courtyard of the Southern Dynasty
"The courtyard is very large, more than 1,500 square meters have been cleared so far, and it continues to extend outward. Initially decomposed into a four-entry courtyard with more than 10 site units. Gao Wei said, "The use of inscription bricks, ornamental tiles and other components shows that the nature and meaning of this building are very unusual, at least it is an official building." It is not excluded that it was the "county government" at that time.
At a glance at the millennium, the site records the rise and fall of the years
Interestingly, in addition to the remains of the Six Dynasties found in the ruins of the ancient county, there are also traces of multiple dynasties, which are thousands of years at a glance.
Kiln sites in the Spring and Autumn Period, the city walls from the Sun Wu to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Ash Ditch in the Western Jin Dynasty, the ceremonial buildings and courtyard buildings in the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties periods, as well as the remains of the auxiliary roads, pillar holes, ash pits and other relics, the Tang Dynasty housing sites, the Song Dynasty roadbeds, wells and tombs, the wells, ash pits, roads, tombs of the Qing Dynasty...
△ Excavated inscription bricks
"In the cultural relics, you can glimpse the rise and fall of the ancient county ruins." Gao Wei said that during the Spring and Autumn Period at the latest, the social development of the ancient county ruins had reached a high level. During the Sun Wu period, due to geographical location and political and military needs, cities and counties were built here. The Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasty further built and developed. The Tang Dynasty began to gradually decline, and the cultural relics decreased. In particular, the Song Dynasty tombs found in the northern city wall area show that the ancient county town of the Song Dynasty has been basically abandoned. By the Qing Dynasty, it had become a small village similar to today.
For more than 2,400 years, the cultural relics and ruins that cannot speak have recorded the continuous context of the text, watching the rise and fall of the ancient county for thousands of years.
The Modern Express reporter learned that the area where the ancient county ruins are located was originally planned to build a middle school. After the site was discovered, Liyang City decided to preserve this area and prepare for the construction of a museum and heritage park here in the future.
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【Liyang Ancient County】
The "Records of Liyang County" says: "Ancient County, Sun Wu Yongping County, Jin Song Qi Liang Chen Sui Yongshi County and ruled in the present fifteen miles south. Jiankang Zhiyun: Wednesday 100 steps, the site is one or two feet high, now commonly known as the old county, there is the old foundation of Tanglong Temple, and the villagers can especially say the ancient place of the fox. ”
"Yongping County" was originally under the jurisdiction of Liyang County, and during the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (196-220 AD, it is said that it was set up in 222 AD), Liyang County, the province of Sun Wu's regime, was Liyang Tuntian Duwei, and its land was divided into Yongping County.
In the first year of the Western Jin Dynasty (280 AD), it was renamed "Yongshi County". In the first year of the reign of Emperor Yongxing of the Jin Dynasty (304), part of Yongshi County was divided into Pingling County, and the county was governed by Pingling City (present-day Gucheng Village, Nandu Town). In the ninth year (432) of Emperor Yuanjia of Song, Pingling County was abolished, and its territory was divided into Liyang and Yongshi Counties. In the ninth year (589) of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yongshi County was abolished and its territory was incorporated into Liyang County, and in the twelfth year (592), Yongshi County was restored. In the third year (620) of Tang Gaozu Wude, Yongshi County was abolished again. Since then, "Yongping" and "Yongshi" are no longer the seat of county governance. (Photo courtesy of the Archaeological Team of the Ancient County Ruins of Nanjing Museum)