Wugang Site

Wugang Site

The Wugang Mountain Site is the first Shang and Zhou cultural site excavated within Nan Cheng. The site extends north and south along undulating hills, with various stamped pottery pieces and stone tools found on the surface, particularly abundant in the stratified layers of gullies on the northern slope. Archaeologists excavated two deep pits at the site, designated as Site No. 1 and Site No. 2. Site No. 1 rises over 10 meters above the ground, spans 50 meters from east to west, and stretches 70 meters from north to south, covering a total area of approximately 3,500 square meters. The stamped pottery unearthed here mainly consists of sand-tempered red pottery and hard black pottery. Site No. 2 is located about 400 meters south of Site No. 1, stands roughly 7 meters above the ground, and covers an area of about 3,000 square meters. The stamped pottery fragments found here are predominantly gray hard pottery featuring mat patterns and meander designs. The decorative patterns on these stamped pottery pieces include coarse rope patterns, fine rope patterns, grid patterns, and rice-grain patterns. Among them, the vessel leg artifacts exhibit typical characteristics of Shang and Zhou relics. Stone tools collected from this site include: two stone adzes (elongated, flat, with beveled edges on both sides and fully polished surfaces), and one stone axe (flattened in shape), all dating back to the Neolithic Age. The archaeological excavation of the Wugang Mountain Shang and Zhou cultural site revealed a relatively small number of artifacts, but they are sufficient to demonstrate that the Xujian River has attracted human habitation here for over three thousand years, nurturing the ancient ancestors of Nan Cheng.