Recently, with the consent and guidance of the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics, Dongguan City and the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology jointly carried out archaeological survey and exploration in Shajiao Village, Humen Town. This is an archaeological survey and exploration carried out by Dongguan City in cooperation with large-scale infrastructure projects, and during the exploration process, a sand dune site was found, and there were remnants of cultural layer accumulation and moving surface in the pre-Qin period. This is the first dune type ancient cultural site found in Dongguan.
With the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted archaeological excavations on the site from November 2021 to January 2022. The excavation covers an area of 300 square meters and unearthed a large number of pottery pieces, stone tools and jade. Judging from the characteristics of the excavated relics and the accumulation status, the site dates from the end of the Neolithic period to the Shang period, and it is speculated that it may be the dumping site of the production and domestic garbage of the settlement.
Excavation site
Dongguan is another example of an important birthplace of Lingnan civilization
As an ancient cultural relic with obvious marine cultural characteristics, the dune site is named for its distribution on coastal sandy beaches, sand banks and sandbars. Sand dune sites have been found in Zhuhai, Zhongshan and other places on the southeast coast of China, such as the pearl river estuary, and are an indispensable and important part of the culture of the pre-Qin period in Guangdong. The formation of the pearl river delta dune site is closely related to the development of the landform, dating back to around 6,000 years ago, the sea level of the Pearl River Delta reached the current height, forming a modern coastline pattern, and the dune accumulation gradually formed. During this period, the human groups on the mainland began to slowly emerge from the caves and come to the banks of the Haihe River to move, leaving behind their cultural relics.
Among the ancient cultural sites found in Dongguan in the past, the main sites are shell hill ruins and terrace sites, such as Nancheng Oyster Gang, Qishi Wanfu Nunnery, Shipai Longyan Gang and Humen Village. The first discovery of sand dune ruins in Dongguan, the excavation of pottery pieces and finely ground stone tools in an area of 300 square meters is of great significance to enriching the types of ancient cultural sites in Dongguan, extending the historical axis of Dongguan, enhancing the credibility of Dongguan history, enriching the historical connotation of Dongguan, and is another example of Dongguan as an important birthplace of Lingnan civilization.
The excavated relics reproduce the mature pottery craftsmanship of the ancients
Cultural layer, is an archaeological term, refers to the ancient ruins, due to ancient human activities left traces, relics and organic objects formed by the accumulation layer. Through the superposition, breaking and parallel relationship of archaeological strata, the relationship between the relative ages and the remains is judged. In general, a slightly earlier formation is superimposed or broken by a later formation.
Unearthed pottery pieces
The early cultural layer of the dune site found this time is a slope-like accumulation of northeast high and southwest low, which can be divided into 2 layers, the upper layer is gray-brown sand soil layer, about 25 cm thick, containing a large number of breccia, red burnt soil blocks, pottery pieces, etc., the lower layer is yellow-brown sand layer, about 20 cm thick, the sand is purer, the breccia is reduced, and the pottery pieces are larger.
Some of the excavated relics
Among the excavated relics, there are exquisite jade rings, pottery pieces with a wide range of ornaments, and stone tools such as hammers, hammers, and stones. Pottery pieces are mainly sand pottery, a small amount of clay pottery, a wide variety of ornaments; there are more than ten kinds of ornaments such as rope pattern, zigzag pattern, diamond checkered pattern, checkered pattern, etc., and the recognizable shape of the vessel is jar, kettle, bean, etc., it is speculated that people at that time already had a certain aesthetic level, and the local pottery process is more mature.
Let the media walk into the archaeological site
The archaeological excavation project of Shajiao ruins, in the case of not yet completed, carefully selected a suitable archaeological site to open to the media, so that the media concerned about archaeology can visit the archaeological site at close range, personally feel the archaeological site, photograph and record the process of archaeological excavation and cleaning and sorting out the excavated relics, show the charm of archaeology to the public through the perspective of the media, and make the professional archaeological results known to the public through accurate and systematic archaeological dissemination, which is the initial attempt of Dongguan City in the field of public archaeology.
Media reporters walked into the archaeological site
Next, Dongguan will also expand the form of public archaeology, select suitable archaeological sites, invite public participation, further enhance the public's understanding of archaeology and cultural relics, and make the awareness of cultural relics protection deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Relying on infrastructure archaeology projects, a complete sequence of urban development is constructed
Dongguan has a history of more than 5,000 years of civilization, nearly 1,700 years of county construction, and more than 1,260 years of city building history, and is an important origin of Lingnan civilization, the first gateway to the Guangdong Sea, the beginning of Modern Chinese history, the anti-Japanese base area in South China, the pioneer of reform and opening up, and a rich cultural heritage. In the Neolithic age, the dawn of civilization has begun to appear in this land.
In June 1972, farmers in Shenghe Yuanling Village, Huangcun Town (now Nancheng Subdistrict) in Dongguan City, found a Song Dynasty brick chamber tomb when they were leveling the land on the slope of Bainikeng. The city's cultural and museum units, together with the archaeologists of the Provincial Museum, cleaned up, and a total of 4 pieces of pottery altars, 2 pieces of silver bracelets, 1 piece of porcelain bowl, silver noodles, bronze mirrors, pottery stoves, and several pieces of copper coins were unearthed. This archaeological excavation opened the prelude to dongguan archaeology. Since then, with the development of the city, the Cultural Relics Work Department of Dongguan has consciously cooperated with large-scale infrastructure to carry out large-scale archaeological investigation and excavation work.
As early as 2004, Dongguan took the lead in promulgating the "Dongguan Archaeological Work Management Measures" among the prefecture-level cities in the province. After more than 30 years of series of archaeological investigations, Dongguan has found a rich variety of underground cultural relics, including more than 20 ancient sites, establishing a prehistoric cultural sequence of dongjiang in Dongguan city; in addition, there are 108 ancient tombs and 12 ancient kiln sites, which clarifies the archaeological and cultural context of Dongguan.
Crews are extracting excavated objects
In recent years, important sites in Dongguan have been properly protected and displayed. Among them, the Oyster Gang Shell Hill Site is one of the few shell hill sites excavated from the Pearl River Delta, and the first prehistoric site museum in Guangdong in the central area of the city was built on the original site, which was announced as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 2013; the Dongguan Cuntou site is the largest shell hill site in the Pearl River Delta, with the richest remains, the largest variety of excavated cultural relics and the largest number of pre-Qin period shell hill sites, which was announced as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 2019.
At the moment of high urban development, standing at the critical moment of the new starting point of the "double ten thousand city" with annual GDP of trillions of yuan and tens of millions of people, it is more necessary to understand where they come from and where they are going, and Dongguan's archaeological work has great potential in the future. Next, Dongguan will dig deep into the rich connotation of the site, show the historical context of the origin and development of Dongguan regional civilization, further rely on infrastructure archaeological projects to build a complete development sequence of Dongguan city, excavate and explain the historical and cultural connotation of Dongguan, and lay a solid foundation for building a sense of homeland, strengthening cultural self-confidence, and highlighting the cultural context of Dongguan.
(Photo courtesy of Dongguan Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports)
Editor-in-charge: Yang Xiaojun