The state of Yue once established its capital in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, formerly known as Kuaiji. Archaeologists in Zhejiang have been excavating two Yue culture sites in Yuecheng District, Shaoxing City since 2021. Archaeological discoveries have greatly rewritten the material and cultural history of Yue, providing an important basis for conducting archaeological research in the capital city of Yue.
The picture shows the exterior of the Dahutou Site.
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-201.jpg)
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-202.jpg)
The picture shows archaeologists working at the Dahutou site.
These two sites are Dahutou Site and Nanshan Site. They were discovered during archaeological pre exploration and are typical Yue cultural sites, with the main cultural accumulation occurring during the Eastern Zhou period.
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-203.jpg)
The picture shows a group of Yue porcelain musical instruments unearthed from the Dahutou Site.
The Dahutou Site is a complete settlement site, with over 500 sites discovered, including building sites, ash pits, ash ditches, water wells, and more. Three primitive porcelain drums and six primitive porcelain phrases were unearthed from a ash pit. The percussion instrument is shaped like a cylinder and is often paired with a drum to command the advance and retreat of troops on the battlefield. The musical instrument is similar to a chime, and the two are generally made of bronze. The head of archaeology, You Xiaolei, from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that this is the first time a group of musical instruments have been unearthed at a Yue culture site.
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-204.jpg)
The picture shows the bronze tools and weapons unearthed from the Dahutou Site.
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-205.jpg)
The picture shows bronze artifacts and crystal rings unearthed from the Dahutou Site.
The site also unearthed a large number of pottery, stone tools, and bronze artifacts. Experts point out that hundreds of bronze tools and weapons have been unearthed here. As an ordinary settlement of the Yue state, there are so many bronze tools and weapons, indicating that the highly developed bronze industry and the strong practicality of the Yue people at that time were unique in the history of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. In addition, through plant archaeology, rice remains and numerous plant remains have been discovered at the site, including grape remains and the remains of the local specialty Chinese torreya.
The picture shows the exterior of the Nanshan Site.
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-206.jpg)
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-207.jpg)
The picture shows archaeologists working at the Nanshan Site.
At present, only one independent large-scale activity area with an area of over 20000 square meters has been excavated at the edge of the Nanshan Site. Three soil platforms have been discovered, and over a thousand relics have been cleared, including house sites, ash pits, ash ditches, pillar holes, and riverbank slope protection. The unearthed relics are mainly composed of primitive porcelain, pottery, and copper, as well as a small amount of iron, stone, bamboo, and wood artifacts. There are also a large number of animal and plant remains here. Researcher Xu Xinmin from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, who is in charge of archaeological research at the site, said that they demonstrated the developed economy and material prosperity of Yue State at that time.
The picture shows a bronze sickle unearthed from the Nanshan Site.
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-208.jpg)
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-209.jpg)
The picture shows a bronze arrowhead unearthed from the Nanshan Site.
![](https://www.hzyyingyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/test-210.jpg)
The picture shows a printed hard pottery jar unearthed from the Nanshan Site.
The Yue culture archaeology in Zhejiang has made significant discoveries related to tombs, such as the Shaoxing Yinshan Yue Kingdom King’s Mausoleum and the high-level tombs of the Anji Yue Kingdom. Several scholars from the Archaeological Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Shanghai Museum, Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Zhejiang University School of Art and Archaeology, and Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology recently inspected the site. They believe that this excavation marks a new stage of settlement archaeology in Vietnamese cultural archaeology; The site has a close relationship with the capital city of Yue, and the archaeological discoveries are rich, providing an important basis for the next step of carrying out the archaeology of the capital city of Yue.
Reporter: Feng Yuan
Photo provided by Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology