By Yuling Chen, EDITOR

The site of Linshi ruins is located at the Fengyang Community, Linshi Town, Fuling District.

Bird's eye view of the site of Linshi ruins in Chongqing, China (Photo from CQCB)

The site is on the second terrace by the right Yangtze River bank. It is about 500 meters away from the Linshi ancient town to the west. Stretching from the west to the east, the historical site has Daoxiang Homestead, Xubaihe Homestead, natural-formed weir, and Hulu Mound. The areas with concentrated remains also include Tianping Mound and Downhill Tianping Mound. Preserved for a long time, the historical site enjoys profound cultural content. It is a representative discovery of infrastructure archaeology in Chongqing in 2018.

Construction site ruins

Since May 2018, Chongqing Cultural Heritage Research Institue and Fuling Museum have been excavating the site. They aim to support the construction of the Comprehensive Flood Prevention and Bank Protection Project of Linshi Town (Phase II). People have found the cultural remains of the late Neolithic Age and Han to the Six Dynasties. Some of the relics are also from the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties.

Painted pottery (Photo from CQCB)

The distribution range of the late Neolithic Age is small. The discovered kiln sites, ash pits, and unearthed kiln pottery fragments show the workshop features of its region. They all provide important materials for us to know about the cultural characteristics and contents of the late Neolithic Age.

The distribution range of the late Neolithic Age is small. The discovered kiln sites, ash pits, and unearthed kiln pottery fragments show the workshop features of its region. They all provide important materials for us to know about the cultural characteristics and contents of the late Neolithic Age.

Ancient Tombs

The cultural relics from the Han to the Six Dynasties are all ancient tombs. Parts of inner and outer coffins in these tombs have clear patterns. They are the physical evidence for studying the joint burial in one tomb at that time. Besides, the well-preserved unearthed polychrome ceramic has filled the research gap of Chongqing.

By contrast, the cultural relics of Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties are of rich types. They include residence ruins, ash pits, roads, kiln sites, ditches, tombs, etc. The architecture base fronts water and against the mountain, and the architectures are of courtyard-style arrangement. Originally, they were buildings in the Song Dynasty, but people in the late Ming Dynasty abandoned this architectural form. They also verify the documentary records of the ancient post station, market, and town existed in the ancient Linshi Town. They had formed in the Tang and Song Dynasties and lasted to the Yuan, and Ming Dynasties. The site boasts important value in studying the ancient markets, towns, and traffic post stations in Sichuan and Chongqing region.

Source: CQCB