A Surprising Tang Dynasty Quadrangle Courtyard - Mingyueba Ruins

The Mingyueba market town ruins were situated about 78 km away from the new county proper of Yunyang China vacation deals. They were covered by wild reeds, shrubbery, Artemisia and creeping weeds. However, an archaeological team from the History Department of Sichuan University have dug out pits and ditches of different sizes, which look like trenches on a battlefield. Nearby, newly unearthed pieces of tiles, pottery and porcelain are laid out.

At the end of 2002, only one pit was made, measuring five meters in both length and width. Digging one meter deep, a building base appeared and further work brought to light a house site which was three rooms wide and two rooms deep. Traces show there were other buildings nearby. Further excavation led to two house sites at the east-west trend, where there were wing-houses on both sides of the former north-south house. While cleaning up the wing house ruins, archaeologists again found a new larger house base, sitting to the south of the first unearthed building base Student tours to China.

"This group of buildings looks like a siheyuan (quadrangle courtyard). We never expected to dig out a courtyard of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in this area," said Li Yingfu, associate professor of archaeology in Sichuan University and head of the work team.

Huang Wei, also associate professor from the History Department of China Sichuan Tours Sichuan University who is responsible for the salvage excavation of the Lijiaba Ruins, northwest of Mingyueba, said, "You never know what you get in archaeological work. One layer after another, the excavation arouses your curiosity. It poses new problems and then gives you answers. This particular site is like a magic box. When you open it, you see unbelievable things in succession. None of us thought we would stay here for years." He was invited to Mingyueba by Li to discuss the courtyard.

The case is the same for Li Yingfu. When he arrived in October 2000, he had planned to return to his own specialty once finishing the work, i.e., Neolithic archaeology. But the rich and generous finds in Mingyueba have retained him.

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