This site lies in the southwest of the eastern Zheng-and-Han city ruins and occupies an area of 22,000 sq m. It was completely excavated in 1996- 1998, which resulted in the discovery of 8 Erligang period, 52 Western Zhou and 731 Eastern Zhou ash-pits, 98 Western Zhou Wells, 17 burial pits of bronze ritual vessels and musical instruments and 45 horse burial pits of the Spring and Autumn period, 3 Warring States period mold-making kilns, 9 Zhou and Han fireplaces, and 152 tombs of the above periods. The present paper reports the No. 2 bronze burial pit, No. 14 chime-bells pit and Nos. 14 and 40 horse pits. They yielded, for ritual vessels, nine ding tripods, 8 gui food containers and 9 li tripods, as well as articles of the square pot, round pot, dou stemmed bowl, jian basin and other types; and, for musical instruments, 2 sets of 10-piece niuzhong semicircalar-handled bells and 1 four-piece set of bozhong large bells. In character, the site must be the remains of sacrificial ceremonies to the god of the land and the god of grain, the conductor of which must have been the ruler of the Zheng State. Its discovery is of great importance not only to the study of the layout of Zhen-and-Han city, the location of ancestral temples in it, and the periodization, dating and casting techniques of its bronzes, but also to inquiry into the ritual and the institutions of using animal victims and ding tripods in the Zhou period.
The largest and well-preserved walled city of the Longshan culture in the Central Plains was excavated by Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology at Guchengzhai site,Xinmi city during the years of 1997-2000.Being square,the walled city occupies 160,000 square meters in total,with the high rammed earth walls of the south,north and east,while the west wall has been partially washed away by the Qin river passing through the west side.Large-scaled palace-like foundation and many features have been found and the Longshan cultural remains can be divided into four phases,the palace-like foundation and the rammed earth walls belong to the second phase,or the middle Longshan phase.It is believed that the materials from Guchengzhai are of importance in understanding the studies of the origin of civilization in central
