Yanglin Iron Smelting Site

Yanglin Iron Smelting Site

The Yanglin Iron Smelting Site is a cultural heritage site protected by Zhengzhou City.

The Yanglin Iron Smelting Site is located on the terraces along the northern bank of Mayu River in the area from Yanglin Village to Sunqiao Village in Xuzhuang Town, Dengfeng City. The center of the site lies to the east and north of the residential courtyards of Group 3 in Sunqiao Village, stretching approximately 3,000 meters from east to west and about 100 meters from north to south, covering an area of around 300,000 square meters. The area is scattered with a large amount of iron slag and carbon residue left behind from ancient iron smelting. In 1984, during a cultural relics survey, a ash pit was discovered on the ridge of a terrace about 500 meters west of Lilou Village. The pit is about 3 meters deep and 2 meters wide, containing ash soil and iron slag. Remnants of solidified iron layers were also found on the walls of the cylinders used for smelting molten iron at that time. During the third national cultural relics survey in 2008, remnants of ancient iron smelting furnace walls were found within the site. These furnace walls were made of compacted yellow earth, with ramming pits about 5 centimeters in diameter and 2.5 centimeters deep. According to local residents, there is a legend that the area was historically known for making plowshares, which were sold far and wide, even over a hundred li away. Parts of the entire site are exposed on the surface, while others lie about two meters below ground level. The cultural layer varies in thickness from 1 to 3 meters. In recent years, locals have unearthed a large quantity of iron slag, carbon residue, red burned soil, and furnace walls from the site, indicating that the scale of iron smelting at that time was quite substantial. Additionally, the area was rich in coal, and evidence from the discovered slag suggests that coal was already in use for iron smelting. This site is located only about thirty li from the ancient Yangcheng, which had an official iron administration during the Han Dynasty dedicated to managing iron production. There were also iron casting sites just outside ancient Yangcheng. Based on this, it is inferred that this iron smelting workshop was also under the jurisdiction of the Yangcheng iron administration. In summary, this iron smelting site is well-preserved and holds significant reference value for the study of ancient iron smelting history.

The Second Batch of Key Cultural Relics Protection Units in Zhengzhou City

Source: Zhengzhou Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics

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