Yaowang city site

Yaowang city site

The Yaowang city site is located around nanxinzhuangzi and anjiayaowang village, Gaoxing Town, Lanshan District, Rizhao City, Shandong Province. It is 17 kilometers away from Rizhao City in the north and 5 kilometers away from the Yellow Sea in the East.

The length of yaowangcheng site is about 630 meters from east to west and 825 meters from north to south, with a total area of 520000 square meters. The cultural accumulation is about 2-3.5 meters. The central part of the site is 4-5 meters higher than the surrounding ground, and has been known as "King Yao City" since ancient times. It is a Neolithic Longshan culture site with Shang, Zhou and Han Dynasty remains on the surface.

In 1977, yaowangcheng site was announced as a key cultural protection unit by Shandong provincial government.

In May 2006, it was announced as the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

Historical evolution

In 1934, the yaowangcheng site was discovered.

From the autumn of 1978 to the spring of 1979, the Cultural Administration Commission of Linyi region carried out a trial excavation at the yaowangcheng site.

From the autumn of 1992 to the spring of 1993, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Rizhao Municipal Bureau of culture explored and excavated the yaowangcheng site, covering an area of more than 800 square meters.

In 1998, Shandong Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Rizhao Municipal Bureau of culture carried out exploration on the periphery of Yaowang city ruins and found clues of the city wall.

In September 2004, the National Geographic Society of America organized a delegation of 37 people to investigate the Yaowang city site.

In November 2012, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Shandong Institute of Oriental archaeology jointly carried out the third archaeological excavation of the Yaowang city site, found the wall site of the Yaowang City, and determined the specific scale of the Yaowang city.

Site features

The length of yaowangcheng site is about 630 meters from east to west and 825 meters from north to south. The announced area is about 520000 square meters. After investigation by the Sino US joint archaeological team, it is believed that the area of the site is larger than that of the two towns, and it is the largest capital of Longshan cultural sites in Asia. The central part of the site is 4-5 meters higher than the surrounding ground, and has been known as "King Yao City" since ancient times.

The thickness of the cultural layer of yaowangcheng site is generally 2-3 meters, and the thickest part can reach 6 meters. The strata are mainly composed of Longshan cultural layer, with Dawenkou, Yueshi, Shang, Zhou and Han ages. As one of the cultural sites of the Neolithic age, yaowangcheng site is a Longshan cultural site in the transition period from Dawenkou Culture to Longshan culture. It is an early developed settlement and belongs to the yaowangcheng type of Longshan Culture in Shandong Province.

Cultural relics

The relics unearthed from the yaowangcheng site include pottery, stone, jade and a small amount of bone. Pottery has clay and sand black pottery, gray pottery, red pottery, white pottery and so on. Among them, red pottery and white pottery are only found in Xi. The main types of pottery are tripod, tripod, pot, plate, cup, basin, cover, spinning wheel, arrowhead, net pendant, etc. Axes, axes, knives, hammers and chisels are common stone tools, while spears, hooks, sickles and spinning wheels are rare. There are mainly bone arrowheads. In addition, some carbonized plant particles were found,

The discovery well of yaowangcheng site has cleared 21 houses and buildings. The house site is composed of wall base, stove site, gateway, threshold and living surface, and most of them are well preserved. According to the shape can be divided into square and rectangular, from the architectural form can be roughly divided into platform (earth platform) type and ground type building. In addition, many sporadic columnar holes were found, with the largest diameter of 10-25 cm and the smallest diameter of 50-80 cm. Some inclined column holes are found outside the column holes, which are used to support large signposts or walls. In addition, the foundation stone is found in the foundation of the two types of houses, namely the platform foundation and the adobe foundation. Some of them set up a piece on the outer side of the east wall and the west wall near the wall root, some of them put used big stone in the wall, some of them put complete stone casting on the opposite side of the doorway, all of which are buried in the wall foundation. A regular rammed earth belt of yellow clay was found in the northwest corner of yaowangcheng site. The rammed earth belt is located in the northwest corner of the site, and its strike is in an arc around the northwest corner of the site to the southwest and Southeast. It is a city wall or large platform building.

Research value

The discovery of carbonized rice grains at yaowangcheng site is the only physical evidence for the discovery of artificially cultivated rice in Longshan culture. The fragments of pottery inscriptions are found in the earliest strata of yaowangcheng site, which provides precious material for the study of the origin of characters. The appearance of painted pottery fills the blank of black pottery culture without painted pottery.

According to the analysis of unearthed cultural relics, the pottery making techniques mastered by the ancestors of Yaowang city in the Longshan culture period have reached the top. They have mastered the selection, treatment, molding, kiln loading, firing and a series of complex processes of clay. Its representative work is eggshell pottery, which is famous for its thin, hard, black and bright body. Even in today's society with highly developed technology, it is difficult for potters to imitate it. It is proved that the pottery making technology reached the peak at that time.

The tombs without funerary objects occupy the highest proportion in yaowangcheng site, followed by those with less funerary objects and those with more funerary objects. These phenomena show that not only private ownership but also polarization between the rich and the poor and class have emerged. The ancestors of Yaowang city had various identities, social division of labor had appeared, and they were engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, handicraft industry and ruler group.

It is the first discovery in the Longshan culture period of China that the earthen tabletop and adobe building forms and construction foundations were discovered in the yaowangcheng site. In the primitive society more than 4000 years ago, the planning and layout of house building were very exquisite, and the house building had very prominent characteristics, style and technology, which was of great significance to study the inheritance and development of Chinese architectural form and technology, and to study the history of Chinese architecture.

The ancestors of yaowangcheng site buried the stone (grindstone) and stone as the foundation stone on the outside or inside of the wall, creating a precedent for the foundation of Chinese architectural engineering. The application of tamping technology and adobe staggered joint technology, and tamping or padding stone at the bottom of the column hole all show the outstanding achievements of the ancestors of Yaowang city in architectural technology. A variety of moisture-proof technologies have been used in housing. Most of the gateways were opened in the south, and there were also East and west directions, which indicated that the ancestors of Yaowang city might have adopted the layout of East and West Wing rooms.

protective measures

In 1977, yaowangcheng site was announced as a key cultural protection unit by Shandong provincial government.

In May 2006, it was announced as the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

Tourism information

geographical position

The Yaowang city site is located around nanxinzhuangzi and anjiayaowang village, Gaoxing Town, Lanshan District, Rizhao City, Shandong Province. It is 17 kilometers away from Rizhao City in the north and 5 kilometers away from the Yellow Sea in the East.

 

Traffic information

Starting from Rizhao City, we arrive at the site of Yaowang city through Yingbin Road and Heyang South Road.

Address: Nanxin Zhuangzi Village, Gaoxing Town, Lanshan District, Rizhao City

Longitude: 119.37552642822

Latitude: 35.312175750732

Chinese PinYin : Yao Wang Cheng Yi Zhi