Master Archaeologist

Chapter 5 What? !This thing is a trench?
To the south of Lajia Village, about one or two kilometers away, a rural wilderness called Xiala by the locals is showing a lively look.

Hundreds of local villagers with hoes are waving their hoes vigorously to dig the soil on a large construction site with an area of ​​about 20 square meters under the sunny sky.

Don't think that all the people working on the archaeological site are archaeologists.

There are less than 50 archaeologists working in Qinghai Archaeological Institute, and nearly half of them are responsible for scientific and technological archaeology, data analysis, cultural relics restoration and other indoor work.

There are only 30 people who can really participate in field archaeology.

If you want to excavate this 30-square-meter ruins with only 20 to [-] people, then you have to dig out the Year of the Monkey?
In fact, most of the excavation work on the construction site was done by the nearby local villagers hired by the Archaeological Institute.

Therefore, in many documentaries related to archaeology, there will always be a bunch of grandparents in their 50s and [-]s holding hoes and looking at the camera curiously at the archaeological site.

Of course, these temporarily employed villagers usually do the most basic work, which every farmer can do.

Dig a hole and turn the soil!
Archaeologists are responsible for the preliminary exploration, measurement, and orientation determination. When it is determined to start digging, the villagers are asked to help dig the soil together.

When the cultural relics layer was dug and cultural relics, tomb pits, and relics began to appear, the archaeologists went to the scene with hand shovels, bamboo sticks, soft brushes and other tools.

When Chen Han and the others arrived at the excavation site, what they saw was a fiery scene.

About one-fifth of the construction site has been dug out dozens of large and small exploration squares, each of which is different in size. Five square meters.

A pile of archaeological team flags fluttered beside the construction site. Dozens of Qinghai local and other archaeologists were carefully exploring and excavating the site.

On the other side, nearly a hundred local villagers are also brandishing hoes and continuing to dig new exploration squares according to the plan.

It is estimated that some of them will be explored, and it will be the place where Chen Han and the others work and struggle every day.

The staff of the Qinghai Archaeological Institute who led the team stood beside the construction site with their waists pierced, and introduced the situation of the Lajia site to Kong Jianwen, Chen Han and his party with emotion.

"The excavation of the Lajia site has been going on for more than a month, and the site is very huge."

"We worked day and night for more than a month before we cleared out a small part."

"It is precisely because of this that we reported to our superiors and applied for support."

He smashed his mouth, and said with a sigh: "The discovery of this site is purely accidental."

These familiar words made Chen Han couldn't help laughing.

90% of archaeological discoveries are basically carried out due to some accidental circumstances and accidents, and there are very few archaeological topics that are really carried out by archaeologists on their own initiative.

Especially now that more and more attention is paid to the protection of ancient tombs, and it is rare for the higher authorities to approve applications for active excavation.

However, prehistoric relics are not included in the "ancient tombs", and the excavation is still encouraged.

After all, the study of prehistoric sites is of great help in tracing the origin of Chinese civilization and even improving anthropology.

The staff of the Qinghai Archaeological Institute continued: "At the end of March, when a villager in Lajia Village was digging up soil to build a house, he dug out many ancient artifacts from the soil and reported it to the relevant departments."

"The Institute sent several researchers to visit and found that the artifacts excavated from Lajia Village were not common cultural relics from the Ming and Qing Dynasties."

"What was dug out turned out to be precious jade bi!"

When everyone at the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Social Sciences heard that the jade bi was dug out, they all murmured in amazement.

Jade bi, a flat round jade vessel with a hole in the center, is one of the traditional Chinese jade ritual vessels.

Jade bi is the earliest and continuous variety of Chinese jade, and it is a very important auspicious jade.

When archaeological excavations were not abundant in the past, the academic circle generally believed that the heyday of jade bi was from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty.

However, as many jade bi and other jade articles have been unearthed in prehistoric sites in recent years, the development history of Chinese jade articles has been pushed back thousands of years.

According to archaeological evidence, at least in the Neolithic Age of 4000 BC, the Chinese ancestors had already widely used "jade bi" as carvings and burial objects.

This thing is not only a symbol of power level, but also a gift or token in social interactions, and was widely used by Chinese ancestors.

Jade bib appeared in Lajia Village, and it was dug out with the soil, not in the coffin of the tomb.

It can be inferred from this that there may be a Neolithic site in Lajia Village.

Because only the jade biscuits in prehistoric sites will be dug out directly from the soil.

Most of the jade bis from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty were unearthed in coffins or inner coffins.

Even if there is geological movement, it is difficult to run directly from the coffin chamber to the soil layer.

Unless it was casually discarded by tomb robbers, but this possibility is even lower.

Everyone is engaged in archaeology, so naturally they understand this truth when they think about it.

The staff of the Qinghai Archaeological Institute did not explain in depth. After skipping the process of identifying the site in the middle, they continued: "After confirming that there is a site in Lajia Village that is likely to be from the Neolithic period."

"The deputy director of our institute personally led the team, transferred most of the researchers in the institute, and went to Lajia Village for field investigation."

"I don't know if I don't investigate. I'm shocked when I investigate."

"The scope of the ruins in Lajia Village is not ordinary!"

"Even now, we have not yet determined how big the site is."

"Currently, the core area that has been explored is about 20 square meters, and the non-core area is also 20 square meters, and the exploration is still going on!"

"Come on, I'll take you to take a look at some of the probes that have been cleared."

The staff of the Qinghai Archaeological Institute opened the cordon and took the lead into the construction site.

More than 30 archaeologists from the Academy of Social Sciences, including Kong Jianwen and Chen Han, hurriedly followed his footsteps with anticipation and curiosity.

A site of more than 40 square meters can already be regarded as a relatively large gathering of tribes in the new era. Even if everyone is a direct descendant of the Central Archaeological Institute, they can rarely come into contact with it!
Soon, the staff took them to the first excavation site of the Lajia Village site, which was also the first to be cleared out.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving here, the first thing everyone sees is an area in the exploration square that is more than ten meters wide and two or three meters deep, and the color of the soil is obviously different from that of the surrounding area.

This distinctive area is so conspicuous!
"This! Is this a ditch?"

"So wide?!"

"Unprecedented!"

The archaeologists of the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Social Sciences, including Chen Han, all looked shocked!

The ruins of this La family, just set off a big bomb for everyone as soon as we met!
　Without digging out the coffin first, jade or pottery were dug out directly from the soil layer.

　　Then congratulations, you have a high probability of discovering an ancient site at least 3500 years ago.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)