Ou'Dun Site

Ou'Dun Site

The Ou'Dun Site is a cultural relics protection unit of Anhui Province.

The Ou'Dun Site is located in Lijia Village, Zhongqiao Township, Langxi County, bordered by Zhongqiao River to the south, north, and west. It covers an area of 12,000 square meters and is the largest pre-Qin cultural site discovered so far in southern Anhui. In May 1998, the People's Government of Anhui Province designated the Ou'Dun Site as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit. Dating back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the site currently exists as an irregular-shaped terrace, about 3 meters above the surrounding ground, with an area of over 20,000 square meters.

The Ou'Dun Site is distributed on the second terrace of the Zhongqiao River, standing 2.5–3.5 meters above the surrounding farmland. Clear and well-ordered cultural layers are visible on the vertical sections at the south and north ends of the site. The county’s cultural relics department has collected numerous pottery shards and pottery feet from the surface of the site. The pottery includes hard pottery, red sandy pottery, and grayish-red clay pottery. The decorative patterns mainly consist of cloud-thunder motifs.

There are also vein-of-leaf patterns, grid patterns, and other geometric stamped designs, along with a small number of rope patterns, blue patterns, sawtooth-shaped appliqué patterns, and plain surfaces. Identifiable vessel types include tripods, li tripod feet, bamboo-joint-shaped hollow bean handles, as well as rims of pots and jars. Both hand-made and wheel-made techniques were used, though wheel-making predominates, with very clear traces of the potter’s wheel. Additionally, 60 polished stone tools were collected.

Through multiple investigations, many cultural relics from the Shang and Zhou periods and even earlier have been discovered, most of which are production tools—such as stone arrowheads, perforated stone knives, stone spades, stone adzes, pottery spinning wheels, and pottery net sinkers. Some pottery items also feature exquisitely printed patterns. This site provides important material for the study and understanding of pre-Qin ancient cultures in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The stone tools unearthed at the Ou'Dun Site are mostly polished, while the pottery shards are predominantly wheel-made, with a large number featuring geometric patterns. The li tripod feet also vary between high and low quality. The precise dating places the site from the Neolithic Age to the Shang and Zhou periods. Its shouldered stone axes were particularly popular in the southeastern coastal areas, while the half-moon-shaped stone knives are commonly found at Liangzhu Culture sites. The geometric-patterned pottery designs discovered here are also frequently seen at many sites in Jiangxi and Zhejiang, offering new research insights into the distribution of various Neolithic cultures in southern China. In 1999, the county cultural relics office also discovered more than ten Tang Dynasty mantou kilns with confirmed dated inscriptions at the site, providing new leads for studying the distribution of kiln sites across the county. Since being designated as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit, the Ou'Dun Site has maintained its original appearance and has been highly recognized by experts in the field.

Protected Area: 60 meters east to the farmland opposite Zhongqiao River, 30 meters south to the Li Family Embankment by Zhongqiao River, 60 meters west to the farmland of Lijia Village, and 60 meters north to Lijia Village.

Construction Control Zone: A 10-meter buffer zone extending outward from the protected area on all sides.