Qin Hall Mountain Site

Qin Hall Mountain Site

The Qin Hall Mountain Site is a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Qin Hall Mountain Site is located in Shangxing Town, Liyang City, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. In 2011, it was designated as a “Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit” by the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government. In 2013, the Nanjing Museum conducted the first archaeological survey and trial excavation of the site, discovering that the total area of the site is approximately 180,000 square meters. The findings cover cultural remains from various periods including the Majiabang, Songze, Maqiao cultures, as well as the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Among these, the Majiabang-period cultural remains are the most abundant, covering an area of about 45,000 square meters.

From December 2014 to November 2015, the Nanjing Museum and the Liyang Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee conducted another excavation at the site. The excavation was carried out simultaneously in Zone I and Zone II, covering a total area of 300 square meters. The western part of the site, the Qin Hall Mountain area, was designated as Zone I, where 27 Majiabang culture burials were uncovered. These burials were densely distributed, with some overlapping, all being single burials in supine, lateral, or prone positions. The human bones were poorly preserved, and the grave goods were not abundant. Artifacts unearthed included jade bi disks, huangs, stone adzes, axes, pottery tripods, spinning whorls, and net sinkers. The eastern part of the site, the Maojia Mountain area, was designated as Zone II, where over 60 ash pits from the Majiabang, Guangfulin, and Maqiao cultures were cleared, along with one Majiabang culture house foundation and one large area of burnt clay accumulation. Drilling also revealed a large east-west oriented ditch-like feature north of Maojia Mountain, though information regarding its age and nature remains unclear.

The Qin Hall Mountain Site is situated in a hilly transition zone between the mountainous terrain of western Taihu Lake and the eastern plain. Its Majiabang culture remains bear a high degree of similarity to those of the Liyang Shendun Site, while also exhibiting clear transitional characteristics toward the Songze culture. The discovered Guangfulin and Maqiao culture remains provide new materials for understanding the cultural landscape of this region from the late Neolithic period to the Xia and Shang dynasties.

On December 19, 2011, the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government designated it as part of the seventh batch of provincial-level cultural relics protection units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units