Xingang Site

Xingang Site

The Xingang Site is situated at the boundary between Wuxing Township in Zhonglou District and Sanjing Township in Xinbei District, Changzhou, with the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway traversing it. Since its discovery in the 1970s, the Archaeology Department of the Changzhou Museum has carried out small-scale trial excavations (October 1991) and geophysical surveys (July 2002), broadly determining the site’s area and cultural stratigraphy. Rescue archaeological excavations were subsequently conducted in 2002 and 2003.

In July 2002, the Changzhou Museum, in collaboration with the Archaeological Institute of the Nanjing Museum, conducted a scientific survey of the Xingang Site. The survey revealed that the site covers a total area of approximately 32,500 square meters, with the central area spanning about 20,000 square meters and featuring relatively rich cultural deposits.

From October 8, 2002, to January 15, 2003, the Archaeological Institute of the Nanjing Museum and the Changzhou Museum jointly carried out the first phase of excavation. During this phase, six 5×10 meter test pits were opened in the central area of the site, covering an excavated area of 300 square meters. The excavation provided further insights into the nature of the Xingang Site. The stratigraphic deposits at the site are about 3 meters thick and divided into six layers: Layer 1 is the plow soil; Layer 2 consists of the Spring and Autumn period strata disturbed by late-period burials; Layers 3 to 5 are Neolithic Songze culture deposits, where a relatively dense concentration of Songze-period burials was unearthed. Artifacts include jade, stone, and pottery items such as jade yue (axes), huang (pendants), rings, stone axes, adzes, grinding tools, pottery ding (tripods), dou (stemmed bowls), hu (jars), guan (vessels), cups, spinning whorls, and net sinkers. Some items exhibit typical Songze cultural features along with strong local characteristics. Layer 6 is the Majiabang culture deposit, where the pottery is predominantly red, with fragments of wide-flanged ding, conical-foot ding, and ox-nose-handled guan among the finds.

The first phase of excavation yielded five Majiabang culture burials, 30 Songze culture burials, two Songze-period residential remains, and one ash pit, totaling 286 artifacts and 15,849 pottery fragments. This excavation uncovered several large late Songze culture burials. Tomb No. 5, for example, was located beneath Layer 2, measuring 2.55 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, and 0.38 meters deep. It was a rectangular vertical earthen pit tomb with a burial orientation of 10 degrees northeast. The fill consisted of yellowish-black mixed soil, with bluish-yellow soil near the bottom. The human skull and limbs were largely intact but had become fragile, with teeth found on the eastern side. No coffin or burial container was discovered. Artifacts were distributed around the skeletal remains, mostly near the feet, including 21 items such as a handled pottery ding, pottery ? (unidentified vessel), dou, guan, cup, hu, basin, spinning whorl, and stone adze. Among them, the string-patterned cup and petal-footed cup are typical Songze culture items, while the handled ding shows characteristics of the Shandong Dawenkou culture. Thus, this tomb reflects both local traits and influences from other cultures.

From March 28 to June 20, 2003, the Nanjing Museum and the Changzhou Museum conducted a second excavation at the Xingang Site. Three 5×10 meter test pits were again placed in the central area, covering an excavated area of 150 square meters. Compared to the first phase, this excavation revealed a denser concentration of burials: one Majiabang culture burial and 22 Songze culture burials. A total of 188 artifacts made of jade, stone, pottery, and bronze (from the Spring and Autumn layer), along with 3,616 pottery fragments, were unearthed. Of particular note was Tomb No. 47, the largest Songze culture burial discovered in both excavation phases. It was located beneath Layer 3, measuring 2.65 meters long, 1.04 meters wide, and 0.43 meters deep. This rectangular vertical earthen pit tomb had a burial orientation of 10 degrees northeast. The fill was extremely soft gray-black soil. The deceased was in a supine extended position, with a flattened skull but relatively intact limbs. Artifacts were distributed on both sides of the head and feet, including 14 pottery items (ding, cup, hu, dou, spinning whorl, basin, and zeng (steamer)) and three jade items (a ring, huang, and bracelet). The jade ring was placed in front of the skull, the huang beneath the neck, and the bracelet under the left wrist—positions consistent with how they would have been worn. The jade huang was lustrous and particularly vivid green when unearthed, while the jade bracelet was found broken in two pieces with visible signs of prior repair. The scale of the tomb, the quantity and variety of grave goods, and the presence of jade artifacts suggest that the deceased was a woman of high social status and wealth during her time.

Based on the findings from both excavation phases, the Xingang Site encompasses deposits from the Majiabang, Songze, and Spring and Autumn periods. The Majiabang culture stratum is relatively thin, with burials primarily of children and few accompanying grave goods. In contrast, the Songze culture stratum is richer and can be divided into three layers representing early, middle, and late phases. In the early period of the Xingang Site, burials were relatively simple, with most head orientations to the northeast. Grave goods were generally scarce or absent, with no clear assemblage patterns. Production tools such as flat, elongated stone adzes and spinning whorls were common, while pottery included items like flared-footed, collared, ridged dou, deep-bellied round-based ding, and tall-necked, flat-bottomed hu. Decorative items were rarely found. Middle-period burials also faced northeast, featured larger tomb areas, and included more grave goods. The proportion of production tools decreased, and pottery assemblages became evident, typically including ding, dou, hu, cups, and guan. Stone tools comprised flat trapezoidal arc-bladed axes, rectangular axes, and rectangular arc-backed adzes, while pottery examples included flat-shovel-footed, concave-footed ding or basin-shaped ding, low-ring-footed basin-shaped dou, nodular-handled tall-footed dou, straight-mouthed arc-shouldered folded-bellied guan, long-necked flat-bellied hu, and cylindrical cups. Late-period burials showed head orientations similar to earlier phases, though some graves faced northwest. Tomb sizes increased further, with some large burials exceeding 2 meters in length. Grave goods mainly consisted of daily-use items, with few or no production tools. Decorative jade items appeared, and the assemblage was abundant, still centered around ding, guan, hu, cups, and dou, but now also including small ritual vessels made specifically for burial and some uniquely shaped items. Stone tools mainly included flat trapezoidal arc-bladed axes and flat elongated adzes, while pottery featured flat-sided basin-shaped ding, ?-patterned handled ding with outward-turned feet, low-ring-footed dou, multi-section ring-footed shallow-dish dou, petal-footed cylindrical cups, gu-shaped cups, bamboo-joint-shaped cups, corrugated-bellied petal-footed ring-footed hu, and low-bellied basins. New vessel types included ? (unidentified), round-based ding, and others. Decorative jade items were mainly huang, along with rings and bracelets, plus ceremonial yue. The characteristics of these three periods were both similar and distinct.

The excavation of the Xingang Site has enriched our understanding of the Majiabang and Songze cultures and revealed a very clear stratigraphic relationship between the two, providing valuable new material for studying the Majiabang–Songze cultural sequence in the Changzhou region. Some late-period artifacts from the site bear striking similarities to those of the Liangzhu culture, reflecting a clear line of cultural succession. Additionally, the Xingang Site is located on the western edge of the Taihu Lake Basin, at the intersection of prehistoric cultures from the north and south and bordering the Jianghuai region. The unearthed artifacts indicate close connections between the Xingang Site and the Shandong Dawenkou culture as well as the Nanjing Beiyinyangying culture, making it highly significant for advancing research on the prehistoric cultures around Taihu Lake.