Small Western Hills Stone Coffin Tomb Cluster

Small Western Hills Stone Coffin Tomb Cluster

The Small Western Hills Stone Coffin Tomb Cluster is located on the Small Western Hills, about 1 kilometer southwest of Jichang Village, Jichang Town, Panshi City, Jilin City. Geographic coordinates: 43°12′10.6", 125°51′13.4", elevation 289 meters. In 2013, it was designated as part of the seventh batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the State Council.

The tomb cluster was discovered in 1976 during the construction of an irrigation channel in Jichang Village. In the same year, the Jilin City Museum conducted a survey of the site. In 1980, the Jilin Provincial Cultural Relics Work Team re-examined the site, cleared six stone coffin tombs and one ash pit, and unearthed three bronze artifacts, six pottery pieces, and 18 stone tools. In 2009, the site was re-examined during the third national cultural relics census.

The tombs are distributed along the eastern slope of the Small Western Hills, covering an area approximately 2 kilometers long and 1 kilometer wide. The discovered tombs are all rectangular vertical shaft earthen pit stone coffin tombs. They can be divided into four types: block stone masonry, slab stone opposing masonry, slab stone opposing masonry with flat-laid block stones on top, and a main coffin built with block stones and a secondary coffin built with slab stones. All tombs contain burial objects, which can be categorized by use into production tools, daily utensils, weapons, and ornaments. Stone tools mainly include stone axes, stone chisels, stone spears, scrapers, stone arrowheads, and stone pendants, some of which were roughly made while most were finely polished. Pottery mainly includes jar-shaped ding vessels and bowls, all handmade and undecorated. The unearthed bronze items include double-edged curved bronze short swords, fan-shaped bronze axes, and bronze arrowheads.

The western slope and summit of the hill where the tomb cluster is located form a site area of approximately 60,000 square meters. Collected artifacts include stone axes, stone hoes, stone knives, stone spinning wheels, and stone grinding plates. The pottery consists only of fragments, mainly featuring bridge-shaped ears, columnar ears, ding vessel feet, rim fragments, and dou vessel handles.

The discovery of bronze artifacts such as double-edged curved short swords indicates that the area had entered the Bronze Age. The bronze swords found in the tomb cluster are largely consistent in shape with those unearthed in other locations such as Erdaohexi in Tongliao, Jiutaiyingzi in Chaoyang, Wujintang in Jinxi, and Xingxingchao in Yongji. The pottery from the tomb cluster is similar to that of the same type found in Yongji Xingxing. It is preliminarily determined that the Small Western Hills Stone Coffin Tomb Cluster dates to a period later than the Xingxingchao Tomb Site, roughly during the Spring and Autumn Period, and is a typical site of the Xituan Mountain Culture.

The Small Western Hills Stone Coffin Tomb Cluster has yielded a collection of bronze artifacts and holds an important position among the Xituan Mountain Culture-type sites in the Jilin region. It provides valuable material for research on the chronology, distribution range, and relationship with contemporary surrounding Bronze Age archaeological cultures of the Xituan Mountain Culture.

Jichang Town: Jichang Town is located in the northwest of Panshi City, at the junction of Shuangyang District, Yitong County, and Panshi City. It is 12.5 kilometers from the Mingcheng Railway Line, with the Mingshuang Highway running through the town. The area is hilly with gray-brown soil. The town covers a total area of 367 square kilometers, governs 32 administrative villages, one community, and 103 natural villages, with a total population of 45,560. The population includes eight ethnic groups: Han, Korean, Manchu, Hui, etc., among which the Han people make up the majority, accounting for about 90.4%.

The town has a forested area of 5,525 hectares and a standing timber volume of 263,569 cubic meters. … Jichang Town detailed information++

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level