Xingang Site

　　   The Xingang Site is situated at the border between Wuxing Township in Zhonglou District and Sanjing Township in Xinbei District of Changzhou, with the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway traversing the area. Since its discovery in the 1970s, the Archaeology Department of the Changzhou Museum has conducted small-scale trial excavations (October 1991) and surveys (July 2002) at the site. These efforts have provided a general understanding of the site’s area and cultural stratigraphy. Rescue archaeological excavations were carried out in 2002 and 2003.

　　　　   In July 2002, the Changzhou Museum, in collaboration with the Archaeological Institute of the Nanjing Museum, conducted a scientific survey of the Xingang Site. The survey revealed that the site covers a total area of approximately 32,500 square meters, with the central area spanning about 20,000 square meters and featuring relatively rich cultural deposits.

　　　　   From October 8, 2002, to January 15, 2003, the Archaeological Institute of the Nanjing Museum and the Changzhou Museum jointly carried out the first phase of excavation. During this phase, six 5×10 meter test pits were opened in the central area of the site, covering an excavated area of 300 square meters. The excavation provided further insights into the nature of the Xingang Site. The site’s stratigraphic deposits are about 3 meters thick and divided into six layers: the first layer is the plow soil; the second layer is the Spring and Autumn period stratum disturbed by late-period burials; the third to fifth layers consist of Neolithic Songze culture deposits, where a relatively dense concentration of Songze-period burials was found. Artifacts unearthed include items made of jade, stone, and pottery—such as jade yue axes, huang pendants, and rings; stone axes, adzes, and grinding tools; and pottery ding tripods, dou stem-cups, hu pots, guan jars, cups, spinning whorls, and net sinkers. Some of these artifacts exhibit typical Songze cultural features alongside distinct local characteristics. The sixth layer is the Majiabang culture deposit, where the excavated pottery is predominantly red, with fragments of wide-rimmed fu cauldrons, conical-foot ding tripods, and ox-nose-handled guan jars being the main finds.

　　　　   The first phase of excavation yielded a total of five Majiabang culture burials, 30 Songze culture burials, two Songze culture residential remains, and one ash pit, uncovering 286 artifacts and 15,849 pottery fragments. This excavation revealed several large late Songze culture tombs. Tomb No. 5, for example, was located beneath the second layer, measuring 2.55 meters in length, 1.2 meters in width, and 0.38 meters in depth. It is a rectangular vertical earthen pit tomb with a burial orientation of 10 degrees northeast. The fill soil is yellowish-black mixed earth, turning yellowish-green near the bottom. The human skull and limbs were mostly intact but had become brittle, with teeth found on the eastern side. No burial furniture was discovered. Artifacts were distributed around the human skeleton, mostly near the feet, including 21 items such as a handled pottery ding, pottery ? (unidentified vessel), dou, guan, cup, hu, basin, spinning whorl, and stone adze. Among them, the string-patterned cup and petal-footed cup are typical Songze culture artifacts, while the handled ding shows characteristics of the Shandong Dawenkou culture. Thus, this tomb reflects both local features and influences from other cultures.

　　　　   From March 28 to June 20, 2003, the Nanjing Museum and the Changzhou Museum conducted a second excavation at the Xingang Site. Once again, three 5×10 meter test pits were arranged in the central area, covering an excavated area of 150 square meters. Compared to the first phase, this excavation uncovered a denser concentration of burials—1 Majiabang culture tomb and 22 Songze culture tombs—yielding 188 artifacts made of jade, stone, pottery, and bronze (from the Spring and Autumn layer), along with 3,616 pottery fragments. Of particular note was Tomb No. 47, the largest Songze culture tomb discovered in both excavation phases. It is located beneath the third layer, measuring 2.65 meters in length, 1.04 meters in width, and 0.43 meters in depth. This rectangular vertical earthen pit tomb has a burial orientation of 10 degrees northeast. The fill soil is extremely soft gray-black earth. The deceased was lying supine with straight limbs; the skull was flattened, but the limbs were relatively well-preserved. Artifacts were found on both sides of the head and feet, including 14 pottery items (such as ding, cup, hu, dou, spinning whorl, basin, and steamer) and 3 jade items (a ring, huang, and bracelet). The jade ring was positioned in front of the head, the huang beneath the neck, and the bracelet under the left wrist—consistent with where they would have been worn. The jade huang is glossy and was particularly vivid green when unearthed, while the jade bracelet was found broken in two pieces with visible signs of prior repair. The scale of the tomb, the quantity and variety of grave goods, and the presence of jade artifacts suggest that the deceased was a woman of high social status and considerable wealth at the time.

　　　　   Based on the findings from both excavation phases, the Xingang Site encompasses deposits from the Majiabang, Songze, and Spring and Autumn periods. The Majiabang culture stratum is relatively thin, with burials primarily of children and few accompanying grave goods. In contrast, the Songze culture stratum is richer and can be divided into three layers representing early, middle, and late phases. In the early phase of the Xingang Site, burials were relatively simple, with most head orientations to the northeast. Grave goods were generally scarce or absent, and no clear artifact combinations were evident. Production tools such as flat, elongated stone adzes and spinning whorls were common among the grave goods. Pottery included items like bell-mouthed, ring-footed, flanged dou, deep-bellied, round-based fu ding, and tall-necked, flat-bottomed hu. Decorative items were virtually absent. Middle-phase burials had a northeast head orientation, larger tomb areas, increased grave goods, and fewer production tools. Pottery began to show clear combinations, with the most common items being ding, dou, hu, cup, and guan. Stone tools included flat, trapezoidal, arc-bladed axes, rectangular axes, and rectangular arc-backed adzes. Pottery examples featured flat-shovel-footed, concave-footed fu or pen ding, short-ring-footed pen dou, nodular-handle tall-footed dou, straight-mouthed, arc-shouldered, folded-bellied guan, long-necked, flat-bellied hu, and cylindrical cups. Late-phase burials had similar head orientations to earlier phases, though some graves faced northwest. Tomb sizes expanded further, with some large tombs exceeding 2 meters in length. Burial items mainly consisted of daily utensils, with few or no production tools. Decorative jade items appeared, and grave goods were abundant, still primarily including ding, guan, hu, cup, and dou, but now also featuring specially made small funerary objects and some uniquely shaped vessels. Stone tools mainly included flat, trapezoidal, arc-bladed axes and flat, elongated adzes. Pottery examples comprised flat-side-footed pen ding, ?-patterned handled and outward-splayed-footed ding, short-ring-footed dou, multi-sectioned ring-footed shallow-dish dou, petal-footed cylindrical cups, gu-shaped cups, bamboo-joint cups, corrugated-bellied petal-footed ring-footed hu, and short-bellied pen. New vessel types included ? (unidentified), yuan (unidentified), and bottom guan. Decorative jade items were dominated by huang, along with rings and bracelets, as well as ceremonial yue axes. The characteristics of these three phases are both similar and distinct.

　　　　   The excavation of the Xingang Site has enriched our understanding of the Majiabang and Songze cultures and revealed a very clear stratigraphic relationship between the two, providing valuable new material for studying the Majiabang–Songze cultural sequence in the Changzhou region. Some late-period artifacts from the site bear strong similarities to those of the Liangzhu culture, reflecting their continuity. Additionally, the Xingang Site is located on the western edge of the Taihu Lake basin, at the intersection of prehistoric cultures from the north and south and the Jianghuai region. The unearthed artifacts indicate close connections between the Xingang Site and the Shandong Dawenkou culture as well as the Nanjing Beiyinyangying culture, making it highly significant for advancing research on the prehistoric cultures around Taihu Lake.