Zhaojiafen Stone Chamber

Zhaojiafen Stone Chamber

Zhaojiafen Stone Chamber

Zhaojiafen Stone Chamber is located on a small hill at the entrance of Guanmen Village, Jiubing Township, Fushun County, with the Xiahe River, a tributary of the Dongzhou River, flowing beneath it. It was named “Zhaojiafen Stone Chamber” because it is situated close to the ancestral tomb of the Zhao family in the village. The stone chamber is exposed on the mountaintop, oriented 68° southeast, and constructed from large upright stone slabs. The stone slabs on the eastern, southern, and northern sides are relatively well-preserved, while the western slab is damaged; the capstone is also severely damaged and has been moved to the northwest side of the chamber. The structure is 2.5 meters long from east to west, 1.8–2 meters wide from north to south, and 1.7 meters high. The base is paved with a large long stone slab, with gaps filled in using smaller stone slabs, making the surface relatively flat. Overall, the side stones are not neatly fitted together — there are gaps of 10–15 centimeters between the northern wall stone and the eastern and western wall stones. All the stones are made of natural granite, showing no signs of processing or finishing.

During excavation inside the stone chamber, numerous fragments of human skulls were discovered, along with several femur fragments in the central part of the tomb floor. A large number of pottery shards were also found, all of which were sand-tempered red pottery. A total of seven artifacts were unearthed, all of which are either intact or restorable. Among these seven relics, there are two tubular ornaments made of gray stone, polished on the surface and finely crafted; one copper ornament resembling a fish, with one flat side and the other covered in pits; one turquoise pendant with a perforation at the top and a smooth polish; one stone spinning whorl made of shale, circular and flat in shape; one pottery pot made of sand-tempered reddish-brown clay, featuring square lips, a flared mouth, a tall straight neck, a pair of bridge-shaped horizontal handles on both sides, and a pair of blind ears on the shoulder; and one pottery jar made of sand-tempered reddish-brown clay, with square-round lips, a flared mouth, a plain surface, and a flat base.

Although this stone chamber has suffered slight disturbance and damage, some artifacts were still unearthed from its base. Based on the pottery found, it is estimated to date back to the Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn periods. Over the years, archaeologists in Liaoning have discovered a significant number of stone chambers in southern Liaoning, but fewer in the Fushun area of eastern Liaoning. The discovery of the Zhaojiafen Stone Chamber not only provides a chronological reference for similar structures in the Fushun region, but also offers highly valuable physical evidence for further research on stone chambers in eastern Liaoning and even the entire Liaodong Peninsula.