Chengdu is the center of ancient civilization in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization. The rich resources of large ruins truly record the context of Chengdu's historical, cultural and social development, and outline a different cultural texture. Over the decades, there have been 28 sites and 39 sites included in the list of large sites in Chengdu. Chengdu Plain prehistoric city site group, ancient Shu cultural site group, Song and Yuan ruins group, wine mill ruins and other large sites, showing Chengdu's profound cultural accumulation.
The profound heritage of the Great Ruins of Chengdu has been revealed by archaeology. As a necessary basic work for the protection of large sites, the archaeological excavation of large sites by the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has refreshed the history of Chengdu and continuously clarified the value connotation of large sites.
For more than 2,000 years, the site of Chengdu has not changed, the name of the city has not changed, but the city's appearance has been refreshed by history again and again. In the area of Tongjinqiao Road in today's Chengdu City, a corner of the luocheng city wall built by Gao Biao in the Tang Dynasty has been re-seen by archaeological excavations, and although it is a broken wall, it can still glimpse the changes of history from the bricks and stones.
▲The inner side of the Tang Dynasty city wall is wrapped in bricks
After excavation and cleaning, archaeologists found an east-west, slightly curved ancient city wall, which was verified to be consistent with the characteristics of the Luocheng city wall recorded in the literature, which was also the first time that the city wall was found in the northwest corner of Chengdu.
▲The way the city wall was built
The excavated ancient city wall is about 170 meters, the width is about 8.9 to 12 meters, and the rammed earth wall is 1.6 meters at the highest point, which is divided into three sections: middle, east and west, of which the western section is well preserved, and its rammed earth and brick masonry part can be clearly seen, which can be divided into three periods: Tang, Ming and Qing.
Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the northwest corner of Chengdu Luocheng has been located in the place of this archaeological excavation. To its south is Tongjinqiao Road, and to the north is the Drinking Horse River. According to the data, when Gao Biao expanded Luocheng, he diverted water into the Fu River and connected with the South River, laying the pattern of "Two Rivers Holding the City" for Chengdu, and then opened the Xihao Moat, which is the predecessor of the present-day Xijiao River.
Correspondingly, the ancient city wall found in this archaeological survey was built inward, from north to south to east, connecting with the north and field walls not far away. Why choose to meet here? According to legend, historically, there was a dragon girl pool outside the Drinking Horse River. One night, the Dragon Girl suddenly dreamed of Gao Biao, and in the dream the Dragon Girl asked Gao Biao to move the city wall inward so that she could travel back and forth with her hometown in Maozhou. Archaeological findings confirm that its adduction is also closely related to the topography.
In the late Tang Dynasty, the walls were flanked by brick walls, with a residual height of about 1. 5 meters, with different specifications of bricks, the brick masonry method is to first dig the base groove, build a layer of rammed earth in the trough, and then lay a layer of mud and pebbles on the rammed earth, and then lay bricks on it.
▲ Tang Dynasty city walls and scattered water
There is loose water on one side of the outer wall of the city wall. Jiang Tao explained that the scattered water was built on the outside of the city wall in the past, which served as a buffer for the rainwater flowing down from the wall. Its width is about 1 meter, the paving is neat, and it is divided into two construction methods: oblique paving and tile paving, and the outside of the scattered water is fixed with diced bricks.
In addition to the Tang Dynasty city wall, archaeology has also found the Ming Dynasty city wall and the Qing Dynasty city wall. The Ming Dynasty city wall only sees rammed earth walls, which are superimposed on both sides of the Tang Dynasty city wall, and there are no bricks. The qing dynasty city wall was built on the basis of the collapse and accumulation of the city wall in the Tang and Song dynasties, and only the north side foundation remains, and the wall and brick wall no longer exist. The construction method is basically similar to the Tang Dynasty city wall. After leveling the ground, excavate the base trough, the base trough is rammed into triads, the thickness is about 33 cm, and the red sand and stone strips are built on the triad, paved smoothly or staggered, and the lime slurry is sewn between the stone crevices.
▲Rammed earth of the Tang Dynasty city wall
▲Qing Dynasty city wall foundation and wall foundation
In addition to the ruins of Tongjin Bridge, the Tang Dynasty city wall has been found in Xiatongren Road, Binjiang Road, Wangjiaba and other locations before, but due to geographical location and late destruction, less can now be seen.
Copyright Notice: This article may not be reproduced or excerpted without authorization, if authorized, please indicate "Source: Chengdu Fangzhi".
Edit: South Beauvan
Proofreader: Wang Yang Li Shengli
Producer: Mao Shengwen
Review: Tang Yuanbo