Excavation location: Liuzhuang Village, Dalaidian Town, Hebi City, Henan Province

Excavation units: Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Hebi Cultural Relics Team, Zhengzhou University and Shandong University.

Person in charge of excavation: Zhao Xinping site is located in the south of Liuzhuang Village, Dalaidian Town, Hebi City, northern Henan Province, on the second and third steps on the north bank of Qihe River, 662 kilometers away from the main canal of the middle route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project. The website covers an area of over 300,000 square meters. The main canal of the middle route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project covers an area of about 70,000 square meters, with an excavation area of 7,700 square meters. At present, the cultural remains of Yangshao era and large-scale pre-Shang cultural cemeteries have been discovered. 336 tombs are distributed in the east-west 1 10 meters and 55 meters from north to south, with clear layout and regular arrangement, and more than 400 funerary objects (sets). Unearthed pottery embodies the historical characteristics of pre-Shang culture, which is characterized by drums and drums in Tao Ge, and it integrates and absorbs the multicultural factors in the surrounding areas during its development.

In this archaeological excavation, a unique sarcophagus tomb attracted the special attention of experts. The sarcophagus is composed of 13 natural slices, 2.25m long and 0.45m wide. The upper part is covered with three thin sheets, symbolizing the coffin cover, but archaeologists have not seen any stones under the tomb owner. The owner of the tomb, with straight limbs and strong bones, should be a man, and Tao Ge was buried with him. In addition, nearly 20 tombs were found with one or more stones placed at the head and feet of the tomb owner. Archaeologists speculate that this phenomenon is probably a simplified form of sarcophagus.

The discovery of a cemetery of this scale for the first time in the Central Plains of Xia Dynasty fills a gap in the excavation and research of pre-Shang culture, and will play a certain role in promoting the study of important academic topics of long-term concern in history and archaeology, such as its tomb system, social structure, the origin of merchants, and the relationship between Xia and Shang Dynasties. The sarcophagus tombs in this period are also unprecedented in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. The discovery of sarcophagus and its simplified tombs may also provide us with new clues to explore the origin of Shang nationality.