Summary: From July 6 to September 1, 2016, academics and students from School of Archaeology and Museology of History Department in Renmin University of China carried out, for the first time, the archaeological excavations at both ruins of Quanshuigou and Dumudu’e

Translated by IICC-X Tian Meng

From July 6 to September 1, 2016, academics and students from School of Archaeology and Museology of History Department in Renmin University of China carried out, for the first time, the archaeological excavations at both ruins of Quanshuigou and Dumudu’erbudege. They also conducted archaeological survey on the copper mine and other ruins in the neighborhood.

 

 

　

Ruins of Quanshuigou, within the jurisdiction of the 5th Company of the 84th Regiment in Shuanghe City of the 5th Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, sits on the alluvial plain at the foot of south of mountain of Alatao belonging to the Tianshan range of mountain. It is about 7 kilometers from south of the ruins to Bole city and 8.5 kilometers to the Boertala river and 16 kilometers or so from north of it to the top of the alluvial fan. On the tableland basement, lacustrine sediments of fossil stream with 5-6 meters thick, the ruins is located, where the traces of planting flourishing crops in ancient time such as wheat, corn, clover etc, were found. The ruins cover more than 1 million square meters with 500 square meters being excavated. The preliminary survey amounted to the acknowledgement that the dwelling site is on the high tableland in the west and the graves area is at slightly low-lying place in the east, where a barrow enclosure of 100 square meters with foundation ditch and two earthen-shafts in the enclosure’s center, was excavated. The imprints of wooden coffin appeared in one of the graves, showing that the occupant had been buried on his/her side bending body with a flat-bottomed pottery jar of grey sandy ware and a copper coin as burial articles; The other grave had been robbed and a cremation rite could be inferred from the fact of burned animal bones under the person’s bones. An ash pit was solely found in the western area. A number of objects were unearthed from the cultural layer and the ash pit, including sandy smoke color ware, pieces of grey pottery, millstones, pottery crucibles with copper residues inside, remnants of copper- iron products, smelted copper dregs, copper ores, bones and teeth of sheep, horses and cattle etc. By the initial judgment, the graves and dwelling sites, mainly encompassing but differentiating from the Andronovo Culture due to the features of ferruginous pottery, raised stripes, tubular spout and round-bottomed vessel etc, had been built in the same time. The parallel ruins, from 1500 BC to 1000 BC, can be seen in the eastern part of Kazakhstan. 

 

　　

 Ruins of Dumudu’erbudege, 36 kilometers or so to Bole city from its southeast and Hariturege river valley on its eastern side, lying in east of Minggetaoleha village Xiaoyingpan town Bole city Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture Xinjiang province, sits on the top of another alluvial fan at the foot of south of mountain of Alatao. Dotted with dozens of stone mound graves and other remains, the ruins are on the gravel layer and under the surface of the earth 0.1-1.5 meters, featuring grassland as the modern earth’s surface. Two areas, the south and north, were excavated, covering 1000 square meters. In the southern area, 4 graves were unearthed and a triangular settlement encircled by stone wall was dissected. In the northern area, a rectangular yard was excavated.

 

　　

In the southern area, the 4 graves are all mounds, the largest of which is 17 meters in diameter with sheds underneath. It features earthen-shaft or the stone piled chambers. The deceased, lying from the east to west with their head in the east, were bent on their sides or straight on their back. Burial objects, whistles made of bones and rusty ironware were found in some of the graves. The ruins had been built at the stage of Scythian Culture about the middle period of 1BC-1000 BC. The triangular settlement encircled by stone wall (stone city) equipped with doors on the south side is some 75,000 square meters and the western wall is under three small unearthed graves one upon another, which had been put up no later than the graves. The dissection indicated that the stone enclosure (the wall), 1-2 meters wide, slightly higher than the surface of the ground, had its bottom been erected by piling up earth and stones and the upper layer with stones. Inside the enclosure, a layer of red clay is under the surface of the ground of 0.3 meter, suggesting it might be the active surface then.

 

　

In the northern area, the rectangular yard is about 1600 square meters, higher than any other building around it as many as 1-2 meters, doors on its south side. The body of wall had been mounded in a way of layer upon layer and its interior had been built with stones. 20-30 regular circular cellars 2-3meters in diameter, with circular kitchens for some cellars on the ground, were excavated in the yard. The fragmentary pieces of pottery were characterized by remnant pieces of jars with contracted mouths of sandy ferruginous ware, added to other burial objects including handles of green glazed pottery, hairpins made of bones, a red brick bearing scratches on one side and the bones of livestock such as horses, cattle and sheep etc. It estimated that the yard had been used as storehouse. The unearthed articles resemble those found in Dalete ancient city more than 60 kilometers away from southeast of the ruins, probably in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

 

　　本次发掘共揭示出三个时期的文化遗存，分别为公元前2千纪后半叶的青铜时代晚期遗存、公元前1千纪前中叶的早期铁器时代遗存，以及蒙元时期遗存，对于研究欧亚草原地带距今3500年以来的文化谱系、聚落形态、丧葬习俗、经济形态、技术系统、社会状况和人地关系，具有重要价值。其中这次发现的青铜时代晚期的铜铁复合制品，年代或与甘肃磨沟人工铁器年代相当，为研究早期冶铁技术的传播增添了新资料；同时期的带基槽的土石墓围和铸铜“坩埚”也都罕见。三角形石围聚落（石城）时当游牧发达的斯基泰文化时期，当时长城沿线直至天山以北的北方草原地带都是常见墓葬而几乎不见居址，因此这个发现很值得关注。蒙元时期的方院聚落在都木都厄布得格遗址附近近山草原地带已经发现数个，其性质、功能及其与河谷低地大城的关系等，也都令人感兴趣。我们会通过今后的发掘和调查进一步探索究明这些问题。

The cultural heritages from 3 periods have emerged during this excavation, comprising the late Bronze Age (the latter half of 2000BC-1001BC), the early Iron Age (the middle period of 1000 BC-1BC) and the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), making great contributions to the study of cultural genealogy system of Eurasian steppes for 3500 years, settlement pattern, customs of funeral affairs, economic form, technological system, social state and the ties between the people and land. The products of iron-copper alloy in the late Bronze Age had been made at the same time with the production of manual ironware at Mogou in Gansu province. It provides with new materials for studying the early popularization of smelting iron ore. The barrow enclosure with foundation ditch and the bronze crucibles, which had been produced in the same time, were hardly seen before. It should be shown great concern for the discovery that the triangular settlement encircled by stones wall (stone city) belongs to the Scythian Culture led by the developed nomads when the graves were very common but the residences were rarely seen from along the Great Wall to the northern grassland against the north side of mountain of Tianshan. Since several settlement of Yuan Dynasty with rectangular yard were found on the grassland near the ruins of Dumudu’erbudege, its nature, function and relationship with the city at low-lying place of river valley has attracted us, which will lead to our further exploration and study.

 

 

　　

The excavation of this time was another one conducted on our own initiatives in Xinjiang province after that of Kalaxilikebiete groves in the east of Aletai city being excavated in 2014. It represents that our School of Archaeology and Museology, based on the northern part of China, looks into the development of Eurasia. It is also of great importance for fostering the Belt and Road Initiative and the deep study on the early cultural interflow between China and the western countries.

 

　　

 The experts from Shandong University, Beijing Union University and Beijing Research Institute of Cultural Heritage were invited to conduct the study on the archaeology of environment, floras and faunas and physical anthropology etc, and the outcome is yet to be released. Professionals from Research Institute of Archaeology in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Xinjiang Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, Nanjing University, University of Sydney, Northwest University, Sun Yat-sen University etc, came to the scene to give their precious opinions. The excavation was given substantial supports by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Administration of cultural Heritage, Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture Administration of cultural Heritage, Bole Administration of cultural Heritage, 5th Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Shuanghe Municipality, Department of the 84th Regiment.

 

 

　

 

  The excavation was led by professor Wei Jian, directed by Han Jianye, Chen Lu and Zhang Linhu, who was involved for a short term, and was engaged by a number of students from our school, including doctorate students Li Xuexin, Liu Hanxing and Li Xiaolong, master students Ba Tu, Zhu Peng, Zhang Qian, Jin Jing, Gong Xue and Xiao Dongnan and undergraduate Xu Zijin and also by doctorate student Tan Yuchen from University of Science & Technology Beijing and master student Hu Linfanghui from Beijing Union University. In addition, the excavation was attended by other members as directors, consisting of researcher Zhang Tienan, and technicians Wu Jingjun and Xu Gang from Xinjiang Research Institute of Cultural Heritage & archaeology.