A complete water resources utilization system and orderly arrangement of building sites … Recently, the second team of Henan Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (the archaeological team of Yanshi Mall) made many important new discoveries in the archaeological excavation work of Yanshi Mall site, which provided more physical basis for further understanding the water resources utilization situation of Yanshi Mall and the overall layout of the city site, and was of great significance to the in-depth study of Xia and Shang culture and the expansion of Chinese civilization tracing project, and also for the upcoming Yanshi Mall.
Excavate the remains of waterways and explore the utilization of water resources
According to reports, the existing area of Yanshi Mall site is about 2.05 million square meters. Since its discovery in 1983, multiple defense facilities such as Miyagi, small towns and big cities have been discovered one after another, and more than 10 large palace buildings, sacrificial remains and pond garden remains have been found in Miyagi. At the same time, many handicraft workshops, treasuries and storage areas were found in the city. The results of investigation, excavation and research show that it is an important city site with the characteristics of capital city in the early Shang Dynasty. In 2021, the site was selected as one of the “Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries in a Hundred Years” in China, and was included in the list of 150 major sites protection projects during the 14th Five-Year Plan period by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
“According to the exploration and excavation data of the water system of Yanshi Mall in recent years, Yanshi Mall has built a complete water resources utilization system and water conservancy facilities.” Jacky, head of the archaeological team of Yanshi Mall, Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that since 2020, the team has been continuously exploring the water system remains of the site of Yanshi Mall, and successively discovered the drainage system on the east side of the palace area and the ancient river outside the Xicheng wall. In the spring of 2021, the team discovered and confirmed the “I”-shaped waterway and the new west gate of Dacheng, which ran through the site. In winter, the important node of the inverted “several” shaped waterway and the east gate of the small town were excavated.
Since the beginning of this year, the staff have continued to explore the western part of the small town of Yanshi Mall and the western wall of the big city, and at the same time, they have expanded the excavation of the starting point of the western end of the inverted “Ji”-shaped waterway and the turning point in the west, all of which have achieved important results.
“This is the starting point of the late waterway.” In the western excavation area of Yanshi Mall site, Jacky said that the staff found the intersection of the late waterway and the ancient river here, which should be the diversion end of the waterway. The whole diversion channel is stone structure and groove-shaped, and the stones are bonded with cinnamon soil, and most of them are open channels.
In the south of the intersection of the ancient river and the waterway, there are many scattered stones left at the bottom of the river, which are different in size and irregular. “At present, it is impossible to accurately determine the specific use of the stone. It is preliminarily speculated that it may be formed after the collapse of the dam.” Jacky said.
In the autumn of 2021, at the northwest bend of the late waterway, the staff found that the corner of the waterway was arc-shaped, which was different from the previously discovered eastern bend..The place is slightly different. In order to further explore its causes, this spring, the staff further expanded the excavation area and confirmed that the waterway includes two stages: early stage and late stage. Among them, the corner of the early waterway turns at right angles, while the arc-shaped corner belongs to the late waterway, which was formed by artificial diversion after the early waterway was abandoned. “These findings provide key evidence for us to further understand the overall layout of Yanshi Mall and the evolution of water system remains.” Jacky said.
The latest archaeological discovery confirms that there is no “wall” around the base group of Building III.
In the spring of this year, the staff also partially excavated the No.III base site group outside the east gate of the small town of Yanshi Mall. Jacky introduced that the No.III site group is located in the Botanical Garden of Yanshi Mall, and previous researchers thought it might be another treasury in Yanshi Mall. The so-called treasury refers to the place where the state (or local political power) stores property and armor.
Jacky introduced that during this exploration and excavation, the staff found out the preservation and distribution of the No.III base site group. According to previous data, No.III base site group consists of 77 buildings in 5 rows. They are basically the same size, the same spacing and neatly arranged. According to the exploration work in 1980s, there is a wall around the site group that is suspected to be a “fence” to enclose it. However, after this excavation work, it is confirmed that the suspected “South Wall” previously found in the No.III site group is actually an early ditch-like relic. The ditch is overlapped by the east wall of the small town in Yanshi Mall and some building sites on the south side of the No.III base site group, so its formation age should be earlier than that of the small town, and it is not directly related to the No.III base site group. The specific nature and function of the ditch need to be further studied and proved.
“The current excavation work confirms that there is no so-called’ enclosure’ in the No.3 base site group.” Jacky said that they excavated in the east, north and south directions of Site III, and found no signs of the existence of walls. This latest result will also have a considerable influence on the shape, structure and attribute judgment of the No.3 base address group.
It is worth mentioning that, in previous studies, some researchers think that the No.III site group and the No.II building site group in the southwest of the city site are both used for storing materials. If so, the storage facilities found in Yanshi Mall are numerous and huge, and the reserves will be amazing. For Yanshi Mall, which is not the largest city site in Shang Dynasty, if there are so many storage places, the nature of Yanshi Mall needs to be carefully considered again. “Therefore, the excavation of the No.III base site group is not only of great significance for understanding the nature of the base site group, but also will have a certain impact on judging what role the city site of Yanshi Mall played in the early Shang Dynasty.” Jacky said.
“For the first time, we will completely excavate a building base site in the base site group III.” Jacky said that through the complete excavation of the building base, it will be possible to.Further discussion on its construction technology, working procedure, building structure and other issues will also help to conduct a deeper scientific study on the nature of the base site group. It is reported that the team will further expand the excavation and research on the water system remains and water resources utilization facilities of Yanshi Mall, and provide more powerful support for in-depth understanding of the water resources utilization situation and urban layout of Yanshi Mall.
(Reporter Wang Shengxi correspondent Liang Xiaoyu)