The excavation of a cache of lead ingots in Liujiazhuang Locus North of Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
Abstract
In August 2015, an earthen cache pit of lead ingots was discovered to the northwest of Liujiazhuang Village within the Yinxu site. The round pit yielded an assemblage of 293 lead ingots weighed 3404kg. The ingots are shaped like turtle shells with broader fronts and narrower rears. Their full length measured from 10cm to 70cm. Lead was an important element in the bronze metallurgy of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The excavation of the cache of lead ingots is significant to the studies of the scale, technology, organization, and management of the bronze-casting industry of the Shang dynasty.
Postscript
The original paper written by Jigen Tang 唐际根, Zhichun Jing 荆志淳, Yuling He 何毓灵, and Jiancong Wu 吴健聪 was published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2018.10:32–41 with 16 illustrations. This abridged version was translated into English by Yun Kuen Lee 李润权.
Further readings
Chen, Guangzu 陈光祖. 1991. 殷墟出土金属锭之分析及相关问题研究 (The metal ingots of Yinxu and their related issues). In Kaogu yu lishi wenhua—qingzhu Gao Quxun xiansheng bashi dashou lunwenji 考古与历史文化—庆祝高去寻先生八十大寿论文集 (Archaeology and historical cultures—Treatises for the celebration of the eightieth birthday of Gao Quxun). Vol. 1. Taibei: Zhengzhong shuju.
© 2021 Walter De Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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- The excavation of a cache of lead ingots in Liujiazhuang Locus North of Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Longshan culture site at Ximengzhuang, Tengzhou, Shandong
- The Honghe site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang
- The grand platform of Huangchengtai at Shimao site in Shenmu, Shaanxi
- The 2018–2019 excavation of the Xiwubi site in Jiangxian County, Shanxi
- Zeng state cemetery at Zaoshulin during the Spring and Autumn period, Suizhou, Hubei
- The excavation of tomb M1 in Quangou cemetery, Wulan County, Qinghai
- Reports
- The 2016–2018 excavation of the cemetery at the Sunjiagang site, Lixian County, Hunan
- The excavation of a cache of lead ingots in Liujiazhuang Locus North of Yinxu, Anyang, Henan
- Research
- Analyzing the functional structure of pottery jiandiping amphorae
- Shimao culture: naming, distribution, and chronology
- A comparative study of Shimao and Taosi
- New insights into the settlement patterns of the capital city at Erlitou
- On the brass ewer unearthed from the crypt of the Shang-fang Śarīra Stupa of Qingshan Monastery in Lintong District, Shaanxi
- The physical evolution and biocultural adaptation indicated by the human skeletons of Donghulin site, Beijing
- Plant remains unearthed at the Donghulin site in Beijing: discussion on results of flotation
