The Tangwang Site

The Tangwang Site

The Tangwang Site is a cultural heritage protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

The Tangwang Site is located on the mountaintop about 200 meters west of Tangjia Village in Tangwang Town, Dongxiang Autonomous County. It is a Neolithic site. In 2011, it was designated as part of the seventh batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units by the People's Government of Gansu Province.

The site is approximately 40 meters wide from east to west and about 30 meters long from north to south, covering an area of 1,200 square meters. In May 1956, 19 intact painted pottery jars were surveyed and collected. These included double-handled long-necked low-bellied jars and straight-mouthed round-bottomed jars, coated with red slip, - , and decorated with cloud patterns, zigzag lines, and others. In 1956, An Zhimin named these ceramics “Tangwang-style” pottery. At the base of the flat elevated area of the site, a layer of gray soil about 1.5 meters thick is exposed, and the flat area is scattered with numerous pottery fragments made of coarse sandy clay, coated with red slip, - , featuring decorative patterns such as spiral motifs and parallel lines. In addition, orange-red plain pottery fragments and coarse rope-patterned plain pottery fragments were also found, identified as artifacts of the Xindian culture. During the third national cultural relics survey, a gray layer about 20 to 30 centimeters thick and approximately 35 centimeters long was exposed on the terrace edge at the top of the site; one ash pit was also found, containing mixed red fired soil and charcoal fragments. Several pottery fragments were collected from the surface of the site, coated with red slip and decorated with - , featuring swirl patterns. Based on records from previous surveys and findings from this investigation, the site is determined to be a settlement of the Xindian culture.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Units in Gansu Province