Yinchuan, May 5 (Reporter Li Peishan) On May 18, the "Discovery of the Country - Ningxia Pengyang Yaohe Plateau Western Zhou City Site Archaeological Achievements Exhibition" jointly held by Ningxia Guyuan Museum and Ningxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology was officially launched. This exhibition is the first comprehensive presentation of the archaeological excavation results of the western Zhou city site of the Yao River Plateau in Pengyang since the Ningxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology carried out a regional systematic archaeological survey of the Red River Basin in 5. Through the interpretation of the unearthed oracle bones, the country of the city site is "Obtained State", which is a Western Zhou princely state that is not recorded in historical records.
Jade Bull. Photo courtesy of Guyuan Museum
The exhibition is divided into two units, covering the regional systematic archaeological investigation of the Red River Basin and the site of the Western Zhou City of the Yaohe Plateau, with the type of cultural relics as the unit identification, and 224 groups of cultural relics unearthed from selected field archaeological excavations, a total of 382 pieces, involving pottery, bronze, jade, ivory, original porcelain, etc., systematically displaying the results of the regional systematic investigation of the Red River Basin, reproducing the layout, shape and burial system of the Western Zhou City site in the Yaohe Plateau, and unveiling the mystery of the site of the capital of the Western Zhou princely state that has not been recorded in this historical record.
Luang bell. Photo courtesy of Guyuan Museum
Since ancient times, Liupan Mountain (Longshan) has been a natural barrier of the Guanzhong Plain and an important watershed in the north, from which the Jing, Qingshui and Hulu rivers of the Yellow River system all originate. Located in the northern agricultural and pastoral zone, it is a historical area of Huarong attack and integration, with rich cultural connotations.
The Red River, which originates from Doujia Mountain Villa in Xinji Township, Pengyang County, on the east side of Liupan Mountain, has a total length of 64 kilometers, flows east through Honghe Town, and flows into the Jing River in Sanshanbao Village, Jingchuan County, Gansu Province, which is a tributary of the upper reaches of the Jing River. The Red River was called Yangjin River Water in ancient times, and the Hong (Heng) River in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and later evolved into its current name. The Red River Basin has frequent human activities and is an important area for ancient human reproduction.
In 2017, the Ningxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology carried out a regional systematic archaeological survey of the Red River Basin, and discovered the site of the western Zhou City of the Yao River Plateau at the triangular platform where the Li'er River, a tributary of the upper reaches of the Red River, and the big and small rivers meet. After archaeological exploration and excavation work, it was confirmed that the city site covers an area of more than 92,<> square meters, has a complete layout, and the era lasted until the early Spring and Autumn Period. The archaeological team has successively discovered important relics such as city walls, moats, high-grade burial areas, copper casting workshop areas, palace building sites, water networks, roads, etc., and unearthed precious cultural relics such as bronzes, jade, ivory, original porcelain, oracle bones and so on. This is the site of the capital of a princely state discovered for the first time in the northwest region.
At the same time, more than 150 characters of oracle bones were found in this archaeology, involving countries and conquests with the Rong people, which is an important historical material and new discovery in the relationship between Zhou and Rong, and is the northwesternmost frontier area known to have been found in oracle bones and the coverage area of Shang and Zhou script and divination culture in the Central Plains.
Tourists visit the exhibition. Photo by He Enbo
Through the interpretation of the oracle bones unearthed by experts, the country of the Western Zhou City Site of Yaohe Plateau is "Obtained State", which is a Western Zhou princely state that is not recorded in historical records.
According to historical records, the Zhou royal family adopted the management model of "feudal relatives, with the domain of Pingzhou", and divided the land to the descendants of the Zhou royal family, meritorious figures, merchant widows, etc., to guard the territory for Zhou Tianzi. Therefore, the state where the city site of Yao Heyuan was located was the northwesternmost territory of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The site of Yaoheyuan City continued from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, running through the entire history of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The city site provides rich physical materials for the study of the early history of the Western Zhou Dynasty 3000,1000 years ago, filling the gap in the study of the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the local history of Ningxia. At the same time, the establishment history of the Liupanshanese area was advanced by <>,<> years.
Tourists visit the exhibition. Photo by He Enbo
The archaeology of the Yaoheyuan site has been rated as "China's Top Ten Archaeological New Discoveries", and the judges and experts gave the northwesternmost Western Zhou early feudal capital city site, the northwesternmost Western Zhou early prince-level tombs, the northwesternmost oracle bone discovery site, the northwesternmost primitive porcelain excavation land, and the northwesternmost copper casting workshop site "five northwestern" evaluations. (End)