Guandimiao site is located to the southwest of Guandimiao Village in Yulong Town, Xingyang City (Henan). The extant area of the site measures 10,000 square meters. When preparing for the middle-route construction for the project of the Nan Shui Bei Diao (Diverting Water from the South to the North), Henan Provincial Institute of Archaeology conducted a large-scale excavation at the site, lasting from July, 2006 through December, 2007 and exposing an area measuring 18,000 square meters.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         The site displays a wealth of cultural remains, including those from the late Yangshao Culture, late Shang, Western Zhou, Eastern Zhou, Han, Tang, Song, and Qing and with particularly rich material remains from the Shang dynasty. More than 1620 pits, 230 tombs, 12 ditches, 20 house foundations, 26 wells, 22 kilns, 3 hearths, and 17 sacrificial pits have been excavated, wherein close to a thousand objects have been unearthed. The objects are made of bronze, pottery, stone, animal bones, and horns.  

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The excavation indicates that a small amount of Yangshao remains are situated in the northwest section of the site. Cultural remains from the late Shang dynasty constitute the majority of surviving remains, located mainly in the east and south sections of the site and dating mainly to the second period of Yinxu Culture. It has also been shown that in the late Shang there is a recognizable difference in function among different sections of the site. Namely, the residential area concentrates in the north part of the central area. Wells used for daily life have been found in this area and its environs. The area for pottery-making has no obvious boundary with the residential area. Nevertheless, in the vicinity of the kilns are remains that may have originally functioned as cisterns. Sacrificial remains have a relatively dense distribution in the southern part of the excavated site, with some traces indicating fire ceremony and burials. All the tombs are located in the northeast, separated from the residential area by ditches.   

Only a few remains from the Western Zhou, Eastern Zhou, Han, Tang, and later periods have been found. They are mainly pits and tombs.

 

          Guandimiao is the first settlement site from the late Shang that has been excavated on such a scale and that displays such a clear layout in mapping the residential area, the graves, and the sacrificial area. Discovery of this relatively well-preserved site is significant in Shang archaeology. It provides information on large-scale late Shang settlements regarding the function and form of such settlements. It will, furthermore, contribute to our understanding on the social structure and social formation during the late Shang. The extensive archaeological samples related to geography, topology, animals, plants, human bones, stone tools, together with varied sorts of soil samples that were collected during the excavation will also constitute the foundational materials for future studies such as settlement archaeology, ancient environment, ancient agriculture, and human behaviors.