Zhaoyao Site

Zhaoyao Site

The Zhaoyao Site is a cultural heritage site protected by Hebei Province.

Zhaoyao Site

The Zhaoyao Site is located 20 kilometers northeast of Wu’an County and 11 kilometers east of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway. It is surrounded by undulating mountains and crisscrossing rivers, with a basin in the middle where the village of Zhaoyao sits on a plateau at the center of the basin. The Zhaoyao Site is situated to the south of Zhaoyao Village, with ?che River to the southeast and Xintianying to the vicinity, covering an area of 50,000 square meters. It is now a key cultural heritage site protected by Hebei Province.

In 1960, a team from the former Hebei Cultural College and the Hebei Provincial Cultural Bureau conducted archaeological excavations here. A total of 28 excavation squares were dug, uncovering ash pits, pottery kilns, and tombs from various periods, with over 500 restored cultural relics. The excavation mainly focused on the southeastern part of the Zhaoyao Site, revealing cultural remains from the Yangshao, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties, spanning from early to late periods. From the Yangshao culture, two ash pits were found, yielding pottery, stone, bone, and shell artifacts. The pottery was mostly fine clay red pottery, followed by sand-tempered red pottery and fine clay gray pottery, with the least being sand-tempered gray pottery. Most of the pottery pieces were plain, with red-topped bowls being the most common among the fine clay items. Artifact types included bowls, cups, basins, jars, pointed-bottom vessels, small-mouthed bottles, and tripods. Stone tools comprised axes, spades, pestles, and grinding stones. Based on the unearthed artifacts, the Yangshao-era remains are believed to be from the Hougang Phase I culture. From the Shang Dynasty, two ash pits were discovered, with artifacts including pottery, stone, and shell items. The pottery was mainly sand-tempered gray pottery, followed by clay gray pottery and polished black pottery, with rope patterns as the main decoration, along with additional stacked patterns, string patterns, and grid patterns. Artifact types included tripods, li cooking vessels, basins, jars, urns, and dou stem cups. A total of 22 Shang Dynasty tombs were found, varying in size, and yielding pottery, stone, jade, and bronze artifacts, some of which bore inscriptions.

The Zhaoyao Site has rich content and spans a wide range of time periods, providing important physical materials for studying the development of the northern Henan and southern Hebei regions from the Neolithic Age to the Shang Dynasty.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Cultural Heritage Sites Protected by Hebei Province