The past 2021 is the centenary of the birth of Chinese archaeology, and it is also a year of great achievements in Shaanxi archaeology. On January 24th, the second shaanxi important archaeological new discovery press conference was held online, taiping site, Zhou original Zhou architecture and Western Zhou city site, Qin Shi Huang Emperor Mausoleum Outer City East Gate site, Western Han Emperor Mausoleum - Baling site, Xianyang Hongduyuan tomb group, Xi'an Xinxiaozhai Yuan Dynasty Zhao family cemetery 6 sites were selected as the second "Shaanxi Important Archaeological New Discoveries".
This year, 7 archaeological excavation qualification units in the province recommended and sent 16 projects to participate in the selection, and after strict evaluation by experts, 9 award-winning projects were finally produced. Most of the selected projects are located around Xi'an-Xianyang, covering the prehistoric, Shang and Zhou, Qin and Han Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties and Song and Yuan Dynasties, with the highest proportion of Qin and Han and Sui and Tang Dynasties. Compared with last year, in addition to the 6 major award-winning projects this year, new shortlisted awards have been added, and the shortlisted projects are: Xi'an Yuedengge Sui and Tang Dynasty Cemetery, Xi'an Ducheng Cast Iron Ruins, and Han Chang'an City Zhaolun Zhongguan Coinage Site.
It is reported that the "Shaanxi Important Archaeological New Discoveries" by the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics, the Shaanxi Provincial Federation of Social Sciences as the guiding unit, sponsored by the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Society, is a centralized display platform for the province's annual archaeological work and important archaeological achievements, and is also an important way for cultural relics archaeologists to report the latest excavation results, research understanding and popularization of archaeological knowledge to the public. As a province with large cultural relics resources and strong archaeological work, the archaeological community in Shaanxi will give full play to the advantages of regional resources, integrate the superior archaeological resources of the province, deeply explain the archaeological achievements of the province, "make cultural relics come alive", and contribute archaeological strength to building a culturally strong province and enhancing cultural self-confidence.
Aerial panoramic view of BalingLing District. (Photo courtesy of Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology)
1
Quadrilate Spokes Taiping Ruins
The Taiping site is located in Doumen Street, Fengdong New Town, Xixian New District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, and current archaeological exploration and excavation work shows that this is a newly discovered large settlement site in the Guanzhong Basin from the Hakka Zhuang cultural period, dating from about 4150-3700 years ago, and has entered the Xia Chronology range.
The excavated jade, jade bi, bi core, jade huang, jade jewelry and other relics indicate that there is a complete set of jade production operation chains in the Taiping site. The excavated bones are well-formed and the burn marks are clearly recognizable. In addition, a pottery bell reflecting the ancient ritual music system and a pottery plaque with exquisite patterns have been unearthed.
The remains of floating crops mainly include millet, millet, rice and so on. At present, the work on the Taiping site is only the tip of the iceberg, but the existence of jade processing and production, bone bones, pottery plaques and pottery bells shows that the Taiping site has the necessary elements of a high-grade central settlement site, and is an important site to understand the origin and early development of Chinese civilization.
Archaeologists believe that the Taiping site brings together the cultural factors of the surrounding eastern, southern, western and northern regions, and is the spoke land of cultural exchanges between the four parties, laying the prehistoric foundation for the capital culture represented by the Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties in the middle of the Guanzhong Basin.
2
The land of Qianqi The ruins of Zhou Yuan
The site of Zhouyuan is a large settlement of capitals that lasted from the Pre-Zhou Period to the entire Western Zhou Dynasty.
The large rammed earth buildings of the Pre-Zhou Period discovered this time fill the gap of the previous Zhouyuan site without high-grade ruins of the Pre-Zhou Period, proving that the Wangjiazui area is the settlement center of the Pre-Zhou Period of the ZhouYuan Site. Combined with previous studies on the scale and cultural nature of the settlement, it is clear that the Site of Zhouyuan was the place where the ancient Gonggong Father moved to Qi. Large-scale warehouse buildings and related discoveries in the late Warring States period confirm the location of Meiyang County in Eastern Zhou, and further support the original Zhou Dynasty as Qiyi in combination with literature.
The discovery of the city wall range of the Zhouyuan site in the Western Zhou Period is a major progress in exploring the history of city construction in the pre-Qin period of the mainland, which provides a reference background for clarifying the structure of the Zhouyuan site settlement, the understanding of the nature of the relevant remains, and the outline of the settlement and social change process, and provides an important example for the establishment of the three generations of duyi.
3
The main entrance of the Imperial Tomb
Ruins of the East Gate of the Outer City of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin
The ruins of the East Gate of the Outer City of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum are located about 200 meters east of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. Since 1962, archaeologists have carried out a large number of archaeological surveys and exploration work, and have a preliminary understanding of the east gate of the outer city of the cemetery. In order to clarify the structure and shape of the east gate of the outer city and promote the archaeological research of the mausoleum of the first emperor of Qin Shi Huang, with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Qin Shi Huang Emperor Mausoleum Museum excavated the site of the east gate of the outer city in 2021.
This archaeological excavation clarified the design concept, construction technology, construction process and building materials of the east gate of the outer city of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, and understood the use, burning and abandonment process of the east gate of the outer city of the Qin Shi Huang Emperor Mausoleum. As the main gate of China's first emperor's mausoleum, the east gate of the outer city of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum can be called the "first gate of the empire", and its excavation harvest has provided new information and laid a solid foundation for the in-depth exploration of the construction concept, planning layout and mausoleum system of the Qin Shi Huang Emperor Mausoleum, the traceability of the origin of the ancient Chinese "gate que system", the study of the history of ancient Chinese thought and the history of ancient Chinese architecture.
4
Half of the Sui and Tang Dynasties
Xianyang Hongduyuan tomb group
Xianyang Hongdu was originally the first choice for high-grade tombs from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties of the Warring States, with large scale, high rank and long duration. Due to its location in Gyeonggi, Hongduyuan tomb owner status is generally high, representative and representative, is an excellent specimen for studying the ancient Chinese burial system, and has great positive significance for the construction of the archaeological system framework of ancient Chinese tombs.
From 2020 to 2021, the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute excavated ancient tombs from the Warring States to the Ming and Qing dynasties in this area, revealing a series of family cemeteries and cemeteries from the Warring States, two Han Dynasties, Western Jin Dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, which were neatly planned, independent and orderly, completely outlining the sequence of ancient tomb development and evolution for more than 2200 years, unprecedented in the history of Chinese archaeology.
The complete development trajectory of the Northern Dynasty Sui and Tang family cemeteries discovered in this tomb group is of great value for promoting the in-depth study of archaeology and history in this period. Among the excavated cultural relics, there are many fine works and breakthrough discoveries. Combined with the comprehensive research results of the archaeological data of the previous Hongduyuan tombs, the huge amount of information contained in it is enough to continue to write half of the History of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and combined with the records of the literature passed down from generation to generation, it will greatly help to elucidate the historical value, cultural value, aesthetic value, scientific and technological value and era value of cultural relics.
5
Literature errata
Tomb of the Western Han Dynasty - Baling Ruins
According to the literature, people have always believed that the Tomb of Emperor Wen of Han is located in the northeast corner of Bailuyuan, an eastern suburb of Xi'an, known as the "Phoenix Mouth", but in 2021, the latest report of the Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute determined that the Jiangcun Tomb is the accurate location of the Baling.
In 2006, the Jiangcun Tomb, which is 800 meters away from the Tomb of Empress Dou, was discovered by archaeological exploration, which provided an important clue for determining the specific location of the Baling Tomb and opened a discussion on the specific location of the Tomb of Emperor Wen; from 2011 to 2013, the protection and archaeological work of the Western Han Emperor's Mausoleum basically clarified the distribution range and morphological layout of the cultural relics in the Baling Tombs (Phoenix Mouth, Jiangcun Tombs) and the Nanling Tombs. The exploration of the Phoenix Mouth did not find any remains of the mausoleum, which provided strong support for the discussion of the ownership of the tomb owner of the Jiangcun Tomb.
Since 2017, the excavation of the outer pit, funerary tomb and the outer pit of the Nanling Tomb in Jiangcun and the archaeological investigation and exploration work around it have clarified the connotation and attributes of the outer pit of the Jiangcun Tomb; the outer cemetery that encloses the tomb of Empress Dou and the tomb of Jiangcun is the key evidence to determine that the Tomb of Empress Dou and the tomb of Jiangcun is the key evidence to determine that the Tomb of The Han Dynasty is the tomb of emperor Of Han. The archaeological harvest of Baling corrected the mistakes in historical documents, determined the location of the Tomb of emperor Of Han and its scale, layout and connotation, and conjured with the historical chain of the evolution of the shape and system of the Western Han Emperor's mausoleum, laying the foundation for the ancient Chinese imperial tomb system. The physical elements, planning layout and rich connotation of Baling show the initial establishment of the state political system of the Western Han Empire with the emperor's exclusive dignity and centralized power, and reflect the evolution and determination of the political concept and governance ideology of the Western Han Empire.
6
The Gate of Crossing
The tomb of the Yuan Zhao family
Only two well-preserved Yuan family cemeteries have been found in Shaanxi. The Zhao Family Tomb, located on the south side of Yanzhan Road in Xi'an's Qujiang New District, is another major discovery of the Yuan Dynasty family cemetery in Shaanxi province, following the yuan liu heima family tomb excavated in 2009. From April to November 2021, in order to cooperate with the capital construction, the Xi'an Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology found more than 250 relics of various periods within the land area of the original Qujiang International Convention and Exhibition Center, of which 9 tombs were a Yuan Dynasty Zhao family cemetery, the burial site was arranged in an unorthodox manner, and the use time basically ran through the Yuan generation, which belonged to the Guanyu burial under the influence of the popular Wuyin surname Li theory at that time.
Unearthed relics include black pottery figurines, black pottery ceremonial vessels common to the Shaanxi Yuan Tomb, etc., and more than 30 pieces of porcelain have been rarely unearthed, with a variety of utensils, and the porcelain kiln mouth involves Longquan kiln, Jingdezhen kiln, Jun kiln, Shanxi Huozhou kiln, Yaozhou kiln and other famous kilns in the north and south, which is the largest number of porcelain excavated from the Shaanxi Yuan Tomb since the 1950s and the richest batch of kiln mouths.
Archaeologists say that the excavation of this cemetery helped people open a "crossing gate" to chang'an city in the Yuan Dynasty, through which not only the rise and fall of the Zhao clan can be seen, but also the thoughts, lives and daily hobbies of the middle and lower-level officials of the Han nationality at that time.
Text: Xi'an Newspaper All-Media Reporter Pang Le
Edit: Mia
Audit: Tianyi, Wenyue
Producer: Xi'an Newspaper Media Group
![There are new discoveries around the mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)