The Luanyi LuanTai Ruins

The Luanyi LuanTai Ruins

The Luanyi LuanTai Ruins are a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

Located in the northwest of Pudaizhuang Village, Wangpiliu Town, about 10 kilometers southeast of Luyi County, there is a square earthen platform standing 5 meters high and covering an area of over 7 mu, which locals call LuanTai. Don't underestimate this mound—it has a history of over 5,000 years. In 1978, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Cultural Relics Department of the then Zhoukou Regional Culture Bureau conducted an archaeological survey here and commissioned the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Research Institute to carry out formal excavations. Through meticulous digging, a large number of cultural relics were unearthed. Archaeologists believe that LuanTai is an ancient cultural site where people lived continuously from the late Dawenkou period to the early Warring States period.

In 1978, the Henan Second Team of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Cultural Relics Department of the Zhoukou Regional Culture Bureau surveyed the LuanTai Ruins. The site contains abundant ancient remains with relatively thick stratigraphic deposits, generally over 7 meters and reaching up to more than 8 meters in some areas.

In September 1987, the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Research Institute conducted trial excavations at the eastern end of the site, essentially clarifying the cultural content of the ruins. The stratification is as follows: The upper 1.50 meters consist of a modern cultural layer containing ceramic fragments from the Ming and Qing dynasties as well as modern times. The second layer, 1.50 meters thick, is a mid-to-late Western Zhou cultural layer where pottery such as dou (food vessels), gui (food containers), jars, urns, steamers, basins, and bone hairpins were found. Most of the pottery is cord-marked gray ware. The third layer is a Shang Dynasty cultural layer, dating approximately from the Erligang phase to the second phase of the Yinxu period, 1.50 meters deep, yielding cord-marked gray pottery such as li (tripod cauldrons), dou, jars, and large-mouthed zun (wine vessels). The fourth layer is a Erlitou period cultural layer, 0.8 meters deep, producing pottery with cord, basket, and grid patterns. Among them, tripods, jars, dou, and basins are made of clayey gray pottery, along with plain red-brown pottery zun-shaped vessels. This layer also includes elements of the Yueshi culture, represented by sand-tempered red pottery xian. The fifth layer is a Longshan culture layer, 2.20 meters thick, where gray cord-marked, basket-marked, and grid-patterned pottery such as tripods, jars, bowls, cups, and xian were found, in addition to polished gray pottery shards, black pottery, and black-slip red-brown pottery pieces.

Additionally, in the northwest of the excavation area, artifacts such as cord-marked gray pottery tube tiles and shallow-dish, thin-handle dou were unearthed. Archaeologists classified this group of remains as Phase Six.

The remains of the first cultural phase mainly consist of ash pits, divided by shape into circular and irregular forms, with pit fillings primarily consisting of large chunks of red fired earth. Artifacts from this phase include pottery, stone, bone, and shell objects. Pottery items are the most numerous, with very few stone tools. The pottery is divided into clayey and sand-tempered types, and can be categorized into five series: clayey red pottery, clayey gray pottery, clayey black-slip pottery, sand-tempered brown pottery, and sand-tempered gray pottery. Major vessel types include ding (cauldrons), he (wine vessels), hu (jars), guan (vessels), dou, tall-stemmed cups, and vessel covers.

The early remains of the second cultural phase include residential structures, wells, and ash pits. Ash pits can be classified by shape into oval, circular, and irregular forms. Wells are circular with straight walls and a cauldron-shaped bottom. At the bottom of the wells, five small-necked, bulging-shouldered jars and one long-necked, bulging-bellied hu were found—they were likely water-drawing vessels. Residential structures have not been found intact, but based on remaining traces, this period favored row-style ground-level buildings, with living surfaces mostly being hard yellow padding earth and having sunken cooking areas. Artifacts include pottery, stone, bone, shell, and copper items. Pottery is predominantly clayey, with sand-tempered pottery in the minority. Sand-tempered pottery contains fine grains of sand, usually not very obvious, and can be divided into six series: clayey gray pottery, clayey black pottery, clayey red jie pottery, sand-tempered gray pottery, sand-tempered red jie pottery, and white pottery. Gray pottery is the most common, and decoration mainly consists of plain or basket patterns. Diagonal and vertical basket patterns are relatively common, often combined with string patterns on the same vessel. Cord and grid patterns have appeared but are less numerous. Vessels with these two types of patterns tend to be thicker and larger in size. Common vessel types include ding, white pottery or jars, hu, basins, plates, dou, cups, bowls, and vessel covers.

The remains of the third cultural phase include house foundations and ash pits. The pottery from this phase mainly consists of sand-tempered red-brown pottery and clayey black-slip gray-bodied pottery. The surface of the sand-tempered red-brown pottery is polished, with scrape marks visible. Due to uneven firing, gray-black patches are common, as are instances of red outside and black inside, or red outside and gray inside. The clayey black-slip gray pottery has thicker walls, is fired at lower temperatures, and is relatively soft; all are wheel-made. The walls are commonly adorned with raised ridges, and basket, loop, and grid patterns can also be seen, though they are rare. Main vessel shapes include jars, basins, dou, and bowls.

The remains of the fourth cultural phase are mainly ash pits. Among them, circular vertical-shaft pits feature smooth walls and flat bottoms with compacted, trodden surfaces. Near the bottom, burn marks are commonly seen on the pit walls, with diameters generally around 2 meters. There are also circular cauldron-bottom-shaped and irregular pits. Irregular pits are usually larger, with messy fillings and a lot of shell and snail debris. Pottery mainly falls into three series: clayey gray pottery, sand-tempered gray pottery, and sand-tempered red-brown pottery. Gray pottery accounts for the vast majority. Cord patterns are the main decorative motifs on vessel surfaces, varying in thickness from coarse to fine. Common vessel types include li, yan (steamer), jars, basins, gui, and dou.

The remains of the fifth cultural phase are mainly rectangular vertical pit graves with wooden coffins, all single inhumations in a supine extended position. Waist pits and mouth-held burial customs were popular. Burial objects were placed at the head. The basic pottery assemblage includes li, jars, gui, and dou.

The remains of the sixth cultural phase are sparsely distributed, found only in the northern part of the excavation area. Pottery is mainly gray in type, hard in texture, and cord patterns are common on the surface. Major vessel types include jars, basins, dou, and bowls, along with some construction materials.

Through careful excavation and dedicated research, archaeologists have determined that the LuanTai Ruins have a history of over 5,000 years, with rich cultural content, and hold extremely high historical and academic value.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Henan Province