Mengliang River Site

Mengliang River Site

The Mengliang River Site is a protected cultural heritage site of Hebei Province.

The Mengliang River Site is a Shang and Zhou period archaeological site, located two li northwest of Quyang County town, 150 meters north of the meteorological station, and 1,500 meters southwest of Baijiawan Reservoir.

The site spans around 300 meters from north to south and about 250 meters from east to west. Drilling revealed a uniform cultural layer depth of 2 meters, including layers of burnt soil and ash. Many pottery fragments are exposed along the earthen slopes on both sides of the road, including remnants of sand-tempered gray pottery li (tripod cauldrons) and guan (jars), a few basin fragments, as well as animal bones and red fired earth chunks. Below are descriptions of unearthed artifacts and collected samples preserved at the county cultural relics protection office, categorized by form: (1) Li: A) Remnant height 10 cm, maximum width 11 cm, rim diameter 9 cm, open mouth with double handles, string patterns encircling the handles, thick body, three broken feet, made of coarse sand-tempered gray pottery, low firing temperature, with coarse rope patterns on the exterior, wheel-thrown and molded; B) Total height 9.9 cm, rim diameter 10 cm, base diameter 8 cm, open mouth without handles, thick body, very short feet, arched partition, molded, with coarse rope patterns, made of coarse sand-tempered gray pottery, low firing temperature; C) Open mouth, wide rim, with two string patterns on the rim, bulging belly, arched partition, tall pointed feet, solid inside, “外” pattern encircling the outer neck below which is plain, above which are fine rope patterns, wheel-thrown and molded, made of sand-tempered black-gray pottery, high firing temperature, thin and lightweight body, aesthetically pleasing, total height 6 cm, rim diameter 12 cm, foot height 2 cm. Pot: Slightly flared mouth, straight slanting belly, flat base, plain neck, fine rope patterns from shoulder down, thick body, gray clay pottery, low firing temperature, total height 10.8 cm, rim diameter 6 cm, base diameter 6 cm; Basin: Gray clay pottery, open mouth, folded lip, fine rope patterns on the exterior, wheel-thrown, high firing temperature. Analysis of the unearthed items suggests that some li fragments exhibit features of the late Shang Dynasty, while the majority of pottery fragments date back to the middle to late Western Zhou Dynasty. This site holds significant scientific value for the study of China’s Shang and Zhou cultures and the living conditions of its inhabitants at the time, as well as important historical and scientific value regarding ancient history and the life and production of early humans.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Hebei Province