Qingdun Site

Qingdun Site

The Qingdun Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Qingdun Site is located about 28 kilometers northwest of Hai’an County.

The Qingdun Site was first discovered in 1973. In the spring of 1976, the Nantong Museum collected and gathered some unearthed artifacts from Qingdun, many of which were precious jade items such as bi discs, cong tubes, pendants, and rings belonging to the Liangzhu Culture. The following November, the museum returned to Qingdun for small-scale trial excavations. Subsequently, the Nantong Museum conducted large-scale excavations covering an area of 490 square meters in April–May 1978 and again in April–May 1979. Among the numerous pottery items unearthed at the Qingdun Site was a red pottery axe with a handle and perforation, hailed as a “national treasure.” It was modeled after a stone axe and consisted of a handle and a perforated blade. This pottery axe was not a practical tool but provided physical evidence of how perforated stone axes were mounted at the time. Its design is particularly unique and aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, the Qingdun Site yielded antler-made plows and three-pronged throwing weapons, which were found in Jiangsu for the first time and hold significant historical and archaeological value.

Analysis of the cultural remains at the Qingdun Site shows that although it is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, its overall cultural characteristics are largely similar to those of Neolithic sites in the south of the river, and quite distinct from related Neolithic remains in northern Jiangsu. The features of the cultural layers are more akin to those of the middle layer of the Songze Culture (approximately 5800–5000 years ago), while the jade artifacts and other remains in the upper cultural layers exhibit some key characteristics of the Liangzhu Culture (approximately 5000–4000 years ago).

The discovery of the Qingdun Site is of great significance for exploring the relationships among various Neolithic cultures north and south of the Yangtze River. In 2006, the Qingdun Site, as an ancient site from the Neolithic period, was included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units