Yellow River Story丨Zhengzhou, Henan Province found the largest water system remains in the early Shang Dynasty
In the grand capital, multiple ditches are interconnected; Along the ditch, various handicraft workshops are lined up in order... The reporter recently learned from the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology that the archaeology of the Zhengzhou Mall site has made a major breakthrough, and the largest water system remains in the early Shang Dynasty have been newly discovered, filling the gap in the understanding of the spatial layout of the southern part of Zhengzhou Mall.
This is a map of the location of the newly discovered water system remains at the site of Zhengzhou Mall (data photo). (Courtesy of Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
The ruins of Zhengzhou Mall, more than 3,600 years ago, are located in the center of the old city of Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, with a total area of 25 square kilometers, and are generally regarded by scholars as the capital built by Tang, the first king of the Shang Dynasty, where the Shang civilization centered on the Yellow River Basin was formed and developed.
It is understood that archaeological staff found three early Shang dynasty ditches in the southeast area of the inner city of Zhengzhou Mall, all of which had large mouths and small bottoms, one of which was artificially processed on the basis of natural rivers, and the other two were completely artificially built. The total length of the ditch that has been revealed is about 540 meters, with a width of about 12 meters at its widest point and a depth of about 4 meters at its deepest.
This is a schematic diagram of the section of some ditches in the remains of the water system of the Zhengzhou Shangcheng site (data photo). (Courtesy of Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
"Through the investigation of the strata relationship, excavated relics and spatial location relationship of the three ditches, it was judged that this was a large water system with interconnection and correlation." Yang Wensheng, vice president of the Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that compared with the Yanshi Shangcheng water system at the same time, the newly discovered Zhengzhou Shangcheng water system is larger and covers a wider area.
In one of the ditches, archaeologists found artificial open ditches and stone water retaining facilities for diversion, indicating that in the early Shang Dynasty, there was a complex functional design of the water network system of Zhengzhou Mall; On both sides of some of the ditches, archaeologists also found the remains of rammed earth buildings and handicraft workshops such as copper casting and bone making.
This is a stone retaining wall in the remains of the water system at the site of Zhengzhou Mall (profile photo). (Courtesy of Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
In addition, the southeast water system is connected to the northern pond garden, indicating that the water in the water system is not only used to meet the needs of urban production and domestic water, but also to use water for the landscape in the city.
"The discovery of this large-scale water system that combines drainage and urban zoning has rewritten the previous understanding of the overall layout of Zhengzhou Mall, especially the southern pattern, and is of great significance for in-depth exploration of the planning concept and functional zoning of the capital city in the early Shang Dynasty." Yang Shugang, head of the Zhengzhou Station of the Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said.
This is part of the ditch in the remains of the water system of the Zhengzhou Shangcheng site (profile photo). (Courtesy of Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
In the next step, archaeological staff will continue to carry out archaeological excavations and related research work, deepen the understanding of the construction, use, abandonment age, dredging, and construction methods of newly discovered water systems, reveal the relationship between the artificial water network in the city and the natural water system outside the city, and grasp the past data to promote multidisciplinary comprehensive research on urban water conservancy, geomorphological environment, construction technology and other related disciplines.
"We will also protect and display some of the water system remains, especially the stone retaining wall, to further enrich the cultural landscape of Zhengzhou Shangcheng National Archaeological Site Park, tell the 'Yellow River story' well, and continue the historical context." Yang Wensheng said.
Source: Xinhua News Agency reporter: Gui Juan, Yuan Yueming
Executive Producer: Xu Rui Editor: Li Ang, Li Mengting Intern: Zhang Sinuo