After a day and a half of discussion, China's Top 10 New Archaeological Discoveries of 2016 list was announced by Wang Wei, head of the China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Institute of Archaeology, at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
Known as China's "Oscars in the field of archaeology," the event, led by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) and organized by China's Archaeologist Association and the China Cultural Relics Journal, is the biggest annual gathering for the field.
The winners cover a wide range both geographically and chronologically. Three of the selected discoveries were former sites for the production of ceramics.
Wang explained that the judges considered a project's methods and use of modern technology, as well as a site's ability to capture the public's imagination as factors when selecting the winners, which were chosen from a shortlist of 25 sites. The panel was made up of 21 experts from institutions including the CASS Institute of Archaeology, the Palace Museum, National Museum of China and Peking University.
Major finds
Quite a number of the discoveries on the shortlist made newspaper headlines in 2016.
The Yongshan Xuechi Sacrificial Site in Fengxiang county, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, came in at the top during the first round of nationwide voting. Covering an area of 4.7 million square meters, it is the oldest, largest and the most well-preserved royal sacrificial site dating to the Qin (221BC-206BC) and Han (206BC-AD220) dynasties ever discovered in China to date.
During a presentation before the announcement ceremony, Tian Yaqi, the project's leader and an expert from the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, said that the site, which perfectly matches descriptions in historical records, has unearthed a large number of jade burial artifacts and the remains of four royal buildings aside from the altar area.
Another site that brought the public's attention to ancient China is the Han Dynasty Lucheng City Site in Beijing's Tongzhou district. At the site, archaeological workers have so far unearthed 1,146 ancient tombs dating back to as early as the Warring States (475BC-221BC). Experts at the conference noted that the excavation is still underway.
The Wei Dynasty (220-265) Xizhucun Tomb in Luoyang, Central China's Henan Province, also attracted a lot of attention due to its possible connections to the royal families of the time. Its project leader, the Luoyang City Institute of Archaeology's Wang Xianqiu, said his team has so far unearthed one major tomb which they believe might belong to royalty. He pointed out, however, that the site was severely damaged prior to the excavation due to rampant tomb robbing.
The Sandao Haizi Site - located in Qinghe county, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region - is a typical representative of archaeological excavations taking place in ethnic minority regions. According to project leader Guo Wu, it may "help provide evidence of the region's mysterious dumuren (one-eyed man)," one of the earliest recorded tribes living on the Euro-Asian prairie.
Previous winners on the list, which was first established in 1990, include the renowned Shang Dynasty (1046-771BC) Yin Ruins in Henan Province and the Han Dynasty royal tombs of the Marquis of Haihun in Jiangxi Province.
Tough choices
Before reaching the shortlist of 25 sites, 40 projects were voted on by 185 licensed archaeological institutions, according to the SACH website.
Leaders of the projects on the shortlist each gave 15-minute long presentations to the jury panel on Tuesday and Wednesday, summarizing the significance and major findings of their projects, as well as answering questions from experts.
After the presentations were completed, the jury panel retired to a room to discuss their choices before the final result was announced.
According to the event's organizers, this year's candidates on the shortlist came from a diverse range of places. The Shaanxi, Hunan, Shanxi and Anhui provinces each had two projects on the list.
As to distribution, there were little regional differences apparent when it came to sites on the shortlist, as the number of projects located in northern China was about the same as that in southern China.
A total of 20 percent of the projects on this year's shortlist are located in the ethnic minority regions.
When it comes to time periods, of the 25 finalists, four are from the Paleolithic period, four from the Neolithic period, seven from the pre-Qin Dynasty period and the remaining 10 from the Qin Dynasty onward.
Top 10 archeological digs
The Pigeon Mountain Site in Qingtongxia, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
The Niupodong cave site in Guian, Southwest China's Guizhou Province
The Shijiahe Culture Site in Tianmen county, Central China's Hubei Province
The Kuzhaikeng Celadon Kiln site in Yongchun county, East China's Fujian Province
The Yongshan Xuechi Sacrificial Site in Fengxiang county, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province
The Han Dynasty Lucheng City Site in Beijing's Tongzhou district
The Shanglinghu Mise Ceramic Site in Cixi, East China's Zhejiang Province
The Qinglong Town Site in Shanghai's Qingpu district
The Guzhen Song and Jin Ceramic Kiln Site in Hejin, North China's Shanxi Province
The Tongmuling Mining Manufacturing Site in Guiyang county, Central China's Hunan Province
