City ruins of Yueshi Culture and Late Shang dynasty Found in Shilipubei site, Shandong

Shilipubei Site is located at about 100 meters north of Shilipu village, Fangshan town, Dingtao county, southwestern of Shandong province. From the autumn of 2014 to the spring of 2015, in order to cooperate with the infrastructure, archeologists have conducted large scale explorations and excavations. The site consisted of the heap deposits at the north, and two hilly lands at the southwest and southeast separately. It is about 350 meters’ long, 300 meters’ wide and with an area of more than 90,000 square meters. The culture accumulation of the heap deposits is 2 meters thick, including cultural remains of Dawenkou Culture, Longshan Culture, Yueshi Culture, Shang dynasty, Eastern Zhou period and Han, Tang and other dynasties; among which, the remains of Longshan culture, Yueshi culture and Late Shang dynasty are the richest. While, rammed-earth remains and tombs of Eastern Zhou and Han dynasties were found at the hilly lands area. The main excavation area was located at the eastern edge of the heap deposits and the excavation ditch at the south, which brought important results to the archeologists, as well. 
Further improved the developing sequence of prehistoric culture in the southeastern Shandong province

Archaeologists unearthed few fine clay red pottery Bo (Bowl), fragments of the pot with two handles, stone grinding rod and sand inclusion red and brown pottery shard; whose ages could be earlier than the period of Dawenkou Culture. At the northeastern and southeastern edges of the site, a cellar and stratum accumulation of the middle period of Dawenkou Culture was cleared up, unearthing fine clay painted pottery jars, Ding tripod mixed with sand and clamshell powder, jars and other objects. The discovery of the remains and the cultural relics of the middle period of Dawenkou Culture or earlier period of that has filled in the gaps of human development in this area between 5000 to 6000 years ago, further improved the prehistoric cultural development chain in the southeastern area of Shandong province.


Found complex and characteristic remains of Longshan Culture, Yueshi Culture and Shang dynasty

At the east of the city ruins, more than 1,500 square meters were excavated, revealing rich remains of Longshan Culture, Yueshi Cultue and Late Shang dynasty, including cellars and few house foundations, tombs, and pottery kilns, speculating to be storage area.

Only about 100 ash pits were the main remains of Longshan Culture, in addition with few house foundations and tombs. Cellars were centralized at the southeast; most of them were round pits with straight walls. In some cellars, the walls were clayed and the bottom was covered with plant ash. The house foundations were shallow subterranean structure, rounded rectangular. The pottery were similar to those of the same cultural period in the east of Henan province, mainly gray or gray and brown pottery, nearly half of them without pattern, but cord pattern, basket pattern and trellis pattern were common. Hardly can be seen the classical sand inclusion pottery. Cookers were mainly fine sand inclusion pottery. The largest number of jars with medium size mouth and arc belly, the second largest number of Yan vessels (steamer), and the smallest number of Ding tripods, only few legs of Ding tripods were found. Besides, classical pottery of Shandong Longshan Culture were unearthed, such as, white and red pottery Gui vessels, ring-foot plate, flat-bottom plate, cylinder cup, high-handle cup, and beak-shaped legs of Ding tripods, but the number of them is limited.

1 house foundation and hundreds of ash pits were found in the remains of Yueshi Culture. Pottery without pattern and a large number of pottery with cord pattern co-existed. The remains of Late Shang dynasty were widely distributed. Nearly 200 ash pits of that period were unearthed, and the middle ones were laid complete cattle or human bones, and complete oracle shells, to be speculated as sacrifice area. Also numerous circular and baggy cellars, a small number of tombs, pottery kilns, house foundations, and column holes were cleared up. The pottery features were mainly the same as those of Yinxu Culture, but the sand inclusion red and brown pottery Li tripods with layered lips has local feature. Fragments of pottery mould were found, which could be the evidence of the remains of copper casting workshop.

Found city ruins of Yueshi culture and Late Shang dynasty and the settlement group by city ruins as center

City ruins is located at the north highland, round plan, with about 180-190 meters in diameter, an area of about 30,000 square meters. 2/3 of the rammed wall was preserved, built along the edge of the highland. However, a breach was found at the south, and the eastern part was destroyed by the river channel. The wall was 0.3-1.5 meters high, 7-8 meters’ wide; and the width of the bottom part was about 11-meters, and rest of the height was about 2.3-3.5 meters. The section revealed the architecture and usage of the wall could be divided into three periods. According to the relics in the accumulation of the main body and revetment, and the overlying relationship, it could be inferred that the first period dated to Yueshi Culture, with main body severely destroyed; the second period was from Yueshi Culture to Late Shang dynasty; the third period was from the Late Shang dynasty to the Eastern Zhou dynasty.

Shilipubei Site has the longest continuation of ancient culture, the most complete preserved and largest excavation heap deposits in the southwestern area of Shandong province. It has set a perfect example to study and display the environmental changes and social evolution of this area for the last 6000 years.

It is the first Yi culture--shang culture city ruins found at the joint zone of both western and eastern cultures; it is an important city on the route of Yi culture migrated from the east to the west, early Shang culture migrated to the south and Late Shang culture migrated to the east; it is a significant breakthrough of the Xia-Shang archaeology in the joint zone of Shandong province, Henan province and Anhui province.    (Translator: Wang Jue)