The excavation of water well J3 at the Ancient City Site of the Zhu State in Zoucheng City, Shandong Province in 2017

Abstract

In March through July 2017, School of History and Culture of Shandong University and other institutions conducted the second term of excavation in the Ancient City Site of the Zhu State, which recovered over 350 features of various types belonging to the Spring-and-Autumn and Warring-States Periods and the Han and Tang Dynasties. Among them, the water well J3 was in a cylindrical vertical pit shape and lined with rectangular bricks and pottery well curbs; the artifacts unearthed from it included pottery wares, iron implements and bronze weighing instruments of the Xin Dynasty (Wang Mang Interregnum, 8–23 CE). The main period of using of J3 was the late Western Han Dynasty, and it was abandoned at the end of the Western Han Dynasty to the Xin Dynasty. The unearthing of the bronze weighing instruments from J3 provided important materials for further exploration to the issues about the measurement system of the Xin Dynasty; the unearthing of the bronze coin master pattern provided important materials for the exploration to the monetary reform in Wang Mang Interregnum. The excavation of this year provided rich data for the establishment of the chronology and cultural genealogy of the site, clarification of the functions and properties of the excavated area and exploration of the evolution of the settlement pattern of the site.