Zhangjiatun Shang Dynasty Ruins

Zhangjiatun Shang Dynasty Ruins

The Zhangjiatun Shang Dynasty Ruins are a protected cultural heritage site of Hebei Province.

The Zhangjiatun Shang Dynasty Ruins are located northeast of the old town of Pingxiang County (site of Julu Commandery) and southwest of the new county town (Fengzhou Town). They fall within the range of the Sand Dunes area. The ruins are situated in a deep earth-excavation pit 100 meters south of the village. The cultural layer along the pit's exposed cliff face is about 1.2 to 2.2 meters thick, with soft, dark gray soil containing large amounts of charcoal ash and red fired clay blocks, pottery shards, broken bones, and clamshell fragments. Multiple ash pits along the cliff have yielded rope-patterned pottery shards, pottery li tripods, pottery spinning whorls, clay lumps mixed with straw, bones, and clamshells. The excavated sandy pottery and clay pottery are divided into two types: red pottery and gray pottery. Through analysis of artifacts from various periods of the Shang Dynasty found at the site, domestic historians and archaeologists unanimously agree that the Zhangjiatun Ruins date back to the early Shang period as a cultural site.

In 2008, the Zhangjiatun Ruins were designated as a “Key Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Hebei Province” by the People’s Government of Hebei Province.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Hebei Province