New Archaeological Discovery at the Galazong Site in Luhuo, Sichuan
The Galazong site is located at the southeast of the Galazong village Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The site is on a gradual slope on the left bank of the Xianshui River.
Between October to September 2009, the Sino-Japan cooperation project “Study on the Northern System Bronzes and Stone Coffin Burials in Southwest China” (Phase II) was carried out here. This excavation was conducted jointly by the Sichuan Provincial Academe of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Archaeology Development of the Kyushu University of Japan, the Cultural Bureau of Ganzi Prefecture and the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Luhuo County. The archaeological team excavated 300 sq m of area. The important finds include 1 Metallurgical ruin and 14 stone coffin burials.
The Metallurgical furnace is located on a gentle slope in the southeast of the site which was divided by the famous Ancient Tea-Horse Route. The structure is in a dome shape with an oval plane, measuring 1.6 m long, 1.4 m wide and 1 m deep. At its bottom is a long inclined ventilator shaft. The deposit under the furnace could be divided into six layers, and in the fourth layer abundant iron ore was found. Taking into consideration of which a large amount of iron ore collected on the left bank of the Xianshui River and the place name Galazong, meaning “smithy” in Tibetan, the site probably was an iron-melting remain.
The excavation revealed that after the furnace was abandoned two human skeletons and many bones of ox, sheep and other animals were put into it and mixed with stones. One human skeleton was put in the north part of the upper furnace lying on its side in contract position. Its right leg was disabled, and the humerus and tibia were deformed over a long period. The other skeleton was at the lower part of the furnace, lying in contract prone position, which was buried with ceramics pot, iron belt hooks, iron knives and bronze earrings as well as many stones. These features were quite different from the contemporary stone coffin burials in tomb forms and treatments of corpses.
According to the burial objects near the second skeleton, it could be dated to Eastern Han period, and the furnace should be earlier. It is the first early iron-smelting remain found in the area where stone coffin burials distribute in Southwest China. The shape of the furnace is also never seen before in this region, which is of great value for the study of local metallurgical history.
The stone coffin burials are located on the gentle slope in the north of the site. The uncovered 14 cemeteries fall into four categories: stone coffin burials with a rectangular shaft and without coffin lid; stone coffin burials with a rectangular shaft and coffin lids; rectangular earthen shaft tomb with lids; rectangular shaft tombs with a wooden chamber and lids. The burials measure about 2 m long and 0.6-0.8 m wide. The burial objects include ceramic, stone, bronze and jade wares. The ceramics include double-eared jars, pots and bead ornaments; The bronze wares include button-like ornaments, axe-shaped objects, mirrors, knives and bracelets; The other objects include turquoises, stone axes and seashells.
The type of burials mainly containing bronzes and stones and without ceramic, is similar with those in the Kashahu site in Luhuo; the other type of burials only containing ceramics, is analogue with those in the Jililong site in Ganzi. This phenomenon reveals that Galazong site was located at the intersection of various cultures. Different burial forms coexisted and developed in different tracks, and cultural elements were diversified, which enriched the content of the stone coffin burial culture in the middle-upper reaches of the Yalong River. The discovery provides first-hand materials for the research of relationship between nomadic and agricultural people of the early Han period in the middle-upper Yalong River. (Translated by Tong Tao)
