Researchers have made important discoveries during excavations of the Pingdingnao ruins, including stonemason workshops, a pottery workshop complex and kilns as well as some tombs with stone chambers, said Xu Changqing, head of the joint archaeological team.
The Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the cultural relics protection bureau in Tonggu County in northwestern Jiangxi province have jointly started salvaging cultural relics from the Pingdingnao Ruins in Jinxing Village, Wenquan Town, Tonggu County since July 2010.
They have unearthed a large number of precious earthenware and stone objects as well as a small number of copperware and jadeware, which were mostly produced during the Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties.
Experts said that the archaeological excavation has proven that there were already people living in Tonggu County 4,500 years ago, and has also greatly enriched the ancient culture in northwestern Jiangxi Province. In addition, the archaeological findings are of great importance to the study of the settlement pattern and handicrafts of Jiangxi Province before the Qin Dynasty.
Source: People's Daily Online [September 15, 2010]