The Shilaodun Site

The Shilaodun Site

The Shilaodun Site is a cultural heritage protection unit of Guangdong Province.

The Shilaodun Site is located on the first terrace of the eastern bank of the Beijiang River in Qingxi Village, Shakou Town, Yingde City. It dates back to the Neolithic Age through the Shang Dynasty. It was discovered in 1996, and an excavation covering 200 square meters was carried out from 1996 to 1998. The cultural layer reaches a maximum thickness of over 3 meters. The site's cultural remains are divided into two phases. The first phase belongs to the Neolithic Age and includes 32 relics, a few of which are ritual sites where two stone tools were arranged in a “V” shape; most are stone tool production sites, centered around anvil stones or grinding stones, often surrounded by gravel, stone flakes, stone tool-making tools, stone blanks, finished or semi-finished tools. Tool types include pointed implements, perforated tools, spears, engraving tools, hammers, balls, clubs, anvils, grinding stones, axes, adzes, knives, and chisels, among which only one shoulder-bladed adze was found. Most stone tools still bear percussion marks, indicating they are semi-finished products, while a few show signs of basic polishing, suggesting this was a stone tool workshop. A small number of pottery shards were also unearthed, including cord-marked sandy pottery and twisted-pattern earthenware, with identifiable vessel shapes such as cauldrons. The second phase includes three ash pits and three burials. Artifacts recovered include stone tools such as axes, adzes, cutters, perforators, rings, and grinding stones, as well as pottery items such as cauldrons, jars, basins, bowls, and spinning whorls, mostly made of sandy pottery and decorated with cord marks, string patterns, circular pit motifs, and incised diamond patterns. This phase dates to the late Shang Dynasty.

In 1998, the Yingde Municipal People’s Government designated it as a cultural heritage protection unit. On July 17, 2002, it was included in the fourth batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units.

Qingxi Village: Qingxi Village comprises 24 village groups, with a total arable land area of 2,488.5 mu. Village officials include Huang Zhenyue, Zhang Daben, Huang Wanqiu, Zhu Mupi, and Luo Huitian.

Qingxi Village has relatively comprehensive institutional systems that are strictly implemented. It has established financial management systems, cash revenue and expenditure regulations, public bidding and project payment procedures for engineering projects, as well as management systems for contracts and archives. The village strictly adheres to provincial standards to regularly disclose information on income distribution, assets and liabilities, and officials’ salaries and subsidies. Major projects and expenditures of the village committee can... More details about Qingxi Village++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units