湖南沅江在洞庭湖河灘發現成群古墓葬

楊哲，責任編輯 鄭偉，中國新聞網，03/16/23

湖南沅江市文化旅遊廣電體育局15日對外透露，當地在南洞庭湖蓮花島村一處河灘發現古墓葬遺跡，經過對遺跡進行發掘，目前共發掘9座墓葬、5座灰坑，並在遺跡周圍採集到一批文物，實證南洞庭湖地區史前和歷史時期就有人居住。

2022年洞庭湖流域遭遇60年一遇特大旱情，水位下降致許多低淺河灘露出水面，該局工作人員在開展野外文物巡查時，發現了該處古墓葬遺跡，第一時間向上級文物主管部門報告，並對遺跡現場實施保護。

2023年2月14日，湖南省考古研究院組織專家現場考察，發現墓葬破壞嚴重，決定同沅江市文化旅遊廣體局和沅江市博物館等對蓮花島暴露于地表的遺存實施聯合發掘。

同時，考古人員對遺跡周圍開展文物調查，採集到一批文物，包括新石器時代的石斧、唐宋時期的瓷器、明清時期的青瓷等。這説明蓮花島在距今一萬多年前就有人居住，且延續時間長，年代跨度大。

此次發掘和調查，實證南洞庭湖地區史前和歷史時期就有人居住。沅江歷史悠久，從上萬年前的赤山島到幾千年前的蓮花島，古人在這裡繁衍生息，創造出的湖島文化的涓涓細流，最終匯入滋養楚文化和華夏文明的江河大海。(完)

Treasure-filled tombs — 12,000 years old — exposed by drought in China, photos show

Aspen Pflughoeft, 03/17/23

Parched by drought and withered by sun, a lake in southeastern China began to shrink. The dropping water level lengthened lakefront beaches, stretched the size of small islands and exposed a forgotten ancient burial ground.

Dongting Lake shriveled under a record-breaking severe drought over the summer of 2022. The nationwide drought was China’s worst in 60 years, the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a Thursday, March 16, news release via China News Network.

While doing a field survey on one of Dongting Lake’s islands, local authorities stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient tomb. They alerted cultural authorities who sent archaeologists to investigate the find, the release said.

Archaeologists excavated the site on Lianhua’ao Island (蓮花島) and uncovered nine tombs and five ash pits, officials said. The tombs had a rectangular design, long and skinny, with some graves placed side-by-side.

The burial site was poorly preserved but still held a few treasures, archaeologists said. Stone axes from the Neolithic age were unearthed. Photos show the worn-down stone tools.

The Neolithic age began in about 10,000 B.C., according to Britannica. The Lianhua’ao Island site and its weathered tombs were at least 12,000 years old, archaeologists said in the release.

The site, however, was also inhabited much more recently.

Archaeologists found porcelain from the Tang and Song dynasties. These dynasties ruled China in close succession beginning in 618 A.D. and continuing until 1279, according to Britannica. Photos show the white fragments of several bowls decorated with a delicate, pale blue design.

Blue-green pottery from the Ming and Qing dynasties was also uncovered, the release said. These dynasties ruled one after the other from 1368 until the early 1910s, according to Britannica.

Archaeologists did not specify the exact ages of the pottery found near the tombs.

Lianhua’ao Island is in the southern portion of Dongting Lake, located about 680 miles southwest of Shanghai.

Google Translate and Baidu Translate were used to translate the news release from the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.