Shijiazhuang, March 14th. Reporters Chen Yuanqiu and Geng Jiankuo
recently learned from the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology that after a year of survey work, archaeologists discovered cultural relics from the Sui and post-Sui periods in the Hengshui section of the Yongji Canal of the Grand Canal. 85 sites, including the Tang and Song Dynasty Wucheng City Site in Gucheng County, the Tang Dynasty Jingzhou City Gonggao City Site in Fucheng County, the Tang and Song Dynasty Anling City in Jingxian County, and many other ancient regional central city sites or clues surrounding the canal channel.
The Hebei section of the Grand Canal is 537.1 kilometers long and consists of the North Canal, South Canal, Wei Canal, Wei River and Yongji Canal ruins. It flows through 17 counties (cities, districts) in Langfang, Cangzhou, Hengshui, Xingtai and Handan. , is an indispensable and important cultural heritage in my country's Grand Canal system, with remarkable geographical and humanistic characteristics.
The cultural heritage along the Hebei section of the Grand Canal is diverse, widely distributed, of high cultural value, and characterized by diversity and complexity.
In order to focus on protecting the cultural relics of the Grand Canal, the cultural relics on the ground along the coast and important relics, Hebei has been working hard to promote the implementation of archaeological research and cultural relics protection projects on the Grand Canal.
Among them, the Yongji Canal originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, was built in the Sui Dynasty, prospered in the Tang and Song Dynasties, was adopted in the Yuan Dynasty, and was dredged in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is an indispensable and important passage in history to connect the north and the south.
"Since June 2022, we have carried out survey work on relevant cultural relics and archaeological resources in the section of the Grand Canal and the old Yongji Canal flowing through Hengshui City, mainly in Gucheng County, Jing County and Fucheng County." Hebei Province Cultural Relics and Archeology Hu Qiang, an associate researcher at the institute, told reporters that this archaeological survey project carried out special work on the old channel of the Yongji Canal in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, as well as important urban sites and related settlements along the coast. It is the first special archaeological work on the Hengshui section of the Grand Canal and the old channel of the Yongji Canal.
The joint archaeological team is composed of the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, Hengshui Cultural Relics Protection Institute, Gucheng County Cultural Preservation Institute, Jingxian Cultural Preservation Institute, and Fucheng County Cultural Preservation Institute.
The survey area is 350 square kilometers, with 85,000 square meters of exploration and 20 square kilometers of surveying, focusing on exploring relevant ruins along the coast after the opening of the Yongji Canal in the Sui Dynasty.
The 85 cultural relics discovered by the joint archaeological team include city sites, villages and towns, individual buildings, tombs, handicraft ruins and shipping relics.
"We have preliminarily clarified the specific direction of the Hengshui section of the Yongji Canal in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Within the scope of the survey, we also discovered a number of ancient regional central city ruins or clues surrounding the canal channel, which will provide future archaeological work for the Hengshui section of the Grand Canal and the old channel of the Yongji Canal. It provides basic information." Hu Qiang said that the Wucheng site of the Tang and Song Dynasties discovered this time is located in Juntun Town and Jianguo Town in Gucheng County.
The governance of Wucheng County was moved to the north of Yongji Canal in the first year of Tiaolu in the Tang Dynasty (AD 679). At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was moved to the east of Yongji Canal due to natural disasters. It did not move again until 1964, and the city has been integrated with the canal.
The ancient ceramic relics discovered during the investigation of the Wucheng City Site are relatively rich, ranging from kilns in Jiangxi, Hunan, Zhejiang, and Shaanxi, from kilns in Henan in the middle, to kilns in Hebei and Shandong as close as possible. The products of the north and south porcelain kilns are gathered here. It is a canal-shaped city site in Hebei Important discoveries in ceramic archeology.
"Wucheng in the Tang and Song Dynasties served as a transportation channel on the Yongji Canal route and was of great significance in trade and military affairs."
In addition, the Gonggao city site discovered by the joint archaeological team in Fucheng County was built as the prefectural city of Guanzhou and Jingzhou in the Tang Dynasty. It is the highest-level Tang Dynasty urban site discovered by the archaeological survey along the Hengshui section of the Grand Canal.
The relics found in the Anling Town ruins in Jing County date from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. They are consistent with the Anling City of Baishe Bridge that was moved to Baisheqiao in the second year of Yonghui of the Tang Dynasty (AD 651) and the Yuhecang Anling of the Yuan Dynasty. There is a close relationship between the Guanhe Office and the Patrol Division in Cang, Ming and Qing dynasties.
"Due to the long-term effects of flooding in history, three to four meters of silt layers have accumulated on these ruins, making survey work very difficult." Hu Qiang told reporters that in addition to the discovered city sites, the joint archaeological team also mastered some rivers Cang and river defense clues.
There are still a considerable number of general settlements scattered along the Hengshui section of the Grand Canal and the old Yongji Canal. These settlements are dotted around both sides of the canal, and together with the above-mentioned central cities along the river, they constitute the first-level canal complex.
(Source: Guangming Daily)