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Institute spills details about old flood wall
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The Hangzhou Institute of Archeology has revealed four significant discoveries that it unearthed in the city last year — a flood wall, tomb, city wall and an ancient ruin.
The flood wall built during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907-979) is considered the highlight because it is believed to be the oldest ever excavated in the country.
It was discovered during construction around Jiangcheng Culture Palace.
“Early in 1983 our institute had excavated a flood wall that was also built in that dynasty and just 1 kilometer from the newly dug section,” said Lang Xufeng, vice director of the Hangzhou Institute of Archeology. “Nonetheless, due to the rushed excavation at the time, we didn’t make study on the construction process and structure of that flood wall.”
This time, the institute said it spent six months excavating the flood wall that is 34 meters wide on Jiangcheng Road.
Lang and his colleagues said it was built according to an ancient construction method known as saogong (埽工), which previously was believed to have been used first in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).
“This discovery pushes forward the wheel of history about a century, and thus far it is the earliest known flood wall to have been excavated and still have existed in the country,” Lang said.
The saogong method refers to a flood wall that had an exterior made of timber and the gap was filled with mud and stone. Next they used huge cages, weaved with bamboo strips and stuffed with stones, on top to strengthen the flood wall, Lang explained. Finally grass and wood was placed over the top to strengthen it again.
“Archeologists will be able to learn a great deal about engineering technology in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms,” added Lang.
In ancient times, a flood wall was built between a river and the city wall. Due to the spectacular tidal bores and special soil texture of the Qiantang River, Hangzhou’s old flood wall was built on a mudflat.
Emperor Qian Liu of the Wuyue Kingdom (AD 907-978) presided over the flood wall’s construction, according to the vice director.
“Qian created the basic layout of old Hangzhou. In my opinion, he was a vital emperor in the city’s history,” Lang said. “The flood wall he built was in use until the Northern Song Dynasty. Later, the city expanded eastwards as sediment from the Qiantang River gradually formed new land to the east. Thus this flood wall was left behind and new ones were built.”
A few years ago, a flood wall built in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties was discovered under Fuxing, Qiutao and Hanghai roads.
Although the ruins were excavated, the institute ultimately decided to rebury it to better protect the flood wall.
Lang said the timbers may have rotted or cracked if exposed to air and that a deep excavation would have put nearby buildings at risk.
He also said it would have cost a lot, thus reburying it proved to be the best option.
The Baguadun Ruin in Gongshu District, where 1,500 antiques ranging from Liangzhu Culture (last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta) to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) were found, is another of last year’s big discoveries.
Archeologists also say an ancient tomb in Lin’an County is important because they believe it could be the grave of Hong Qiwei, a mayor of Hangzhou during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).
The final major find of 2014 is a section of the ancient city wall of Yanzhou (present-day Hangzhou and part of Anhui Province), which was built in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
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