Henan University of Science and Technology (Hekeda) is building a new campus near the Luo River on the southern outskirts of Luoyang. As high-rise cranes lift the materials needed to build upward, workers nearby dig down to discover ancient artifacts.
Museum's Archeological Dig Discovers Ancient Antiquities
On the Hekeda campus, the Luoyang Museum has a field site collecting and classifying the historical remains, but there are so many, they simply note what is found and – except for the extraordinary finds – put them back in the ground. Neolithic utensils, Peligang pottery shards, Tang Dynasty weapons and roof tiles, and Qing Dynasty porcelain have all been relegated to the rubbish heap.
One need not dig to find 4-6000 year old relics. In farm fields that still dot the campus and on students’ walking paths of relatively undisturbed earth, thousands of souvenirs from the past lie on the surface of the soil, crying out to those who pass by to remember their heritage. Few notice and even fewer know what it is they are not seeing.
Types of Treasures Include Ancient Chinese Pottery and Neolithic Stone Knives
Although most of the finds are only remnants of items, some are very large pieces of big articles and occasionally something surfaces that remains intact. The Luoyang Museum – now in the process of moving to a larger building in the newer area of the city – proudly displays many of these historical artifacts. Discoveries include such things as pots, dishes, toys, weapons, roof tiles, money, and funerary pieces.
The ancient objects are most commonly made from jade, stone, bone, shell, pottery, porcelain and metal. The specific material used, carvings, painted designs, decorative features, the production process and the pattern of the object are all taken into consideration when authenticating the relics.
From the Neolithic Era to the Song Dynasty
The following list provides the approximate dating (by culture or dynasty) and basic identification points of pottery shards that are plentiful on the Luoyang campus.
From the Neolithic Era 5000 - 3000 BC:
- Peiligang Culture – pottery-making is very basic so the sand is easily seen in the broken edges. The earliest pieces are thick. As the skill level increased, the pottery became thinner and more delicate. Decorative edges – rope, braid, twisted – are often found. Other finds are the distinctive legs from the pots that were made to sit above the cooking fires.
- Yangshao Culture – usually red clay color with colored lines. Double borders are common.
- Longshan Culture – highly polished black pottery with decorative lines scratched into the surface
Tang Dynasty 618 - 907
- Decorations are simply lines scratched into the clay’s surface. The reverse side usually has a distinct pattern of cloth which was applied during the production process. Although this period is famous for the sancai or tri-color pottery, it is not commonly found on this Luoyang site.
Song Dynasty 960 - 1279
- The pieces usually have colored glazes – sometimes on both sides – that are very shiny. Some almost have an art deco look.
Multiple construction projects on Hekeda’s new campus have increased the amount of debris in the dirt. Tile sidewalks, roof tiles, cooking pots, broken mugs and dishes are all made of similar materials. For a neophyte shard hunter, picking the ancient pieces out of the profusion of contemporary ceramics that litter the campus is difficult but not impossible. Often it is impossible to identify a shard until after it is cleaned. Thousands of years of dirt do not always look different than a mere ten or twenty.
See The Invention of Pottery in China for more information about Chinese pottery.
Sources:
- He Li, Chinese Ceramics. The New Standard Guide. Thames and Hudson, London, 1996.
- Shanghai Museum, Neolithic Ceramics Exhibit, visited June 8, 2010.
Mistie Shaw - Writing for nearly half a century, Shaw's interests and education meander from music to the military, and from faith to fun.
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