河南發(fā)現(xiàn)世界現(xiàn)存最早鑄幣作坊

Systematic AMS radiocarbon-dating indicates that coin production at Guanzhuang in Xingyang of Central China's Henan province began around 640–550 BC, making Guanzhuang the world's oldest-known and securely dated minting site, according to the latest findings unveiled on Antiquity, an international journal of archaeology, by a team of archaeologists mainly from Zhengzhou University recently, said a source from the School of History of Zhengzhou University on August 8.

8月8日，記者從鄭州大學(xué)歷史學(xué)院獲悉，鄭州大學(xué)考古團(tuán)隊(duì)近日在國際考古刊物《古物》上發(fā)布了一項(xiàng)最新考古研究成果：經(jīng)過精確的碳14測年，確認(rèn)河南滎陽官莊遺址是目前發(fā)現(xiàn)的世界現(xiàn)存年代最早的鑄幣作坊。

 

 

An illustration of the spade coins at Guanzhuang minting site. [Photo provided to Henan Daily]

4 types of remains related to the production of spade coins were identified at Guanzhuang bronze foundry, including finished hollow-handle spade coins (kongshoubu), unused and used clay cores and outer moulds, among which the clay core is the direct proof of standardized coin production at the foundry. A total of 54 unused and discarded clay cores for casting the hollow handle of spade coins were recovered from 9 deposition units. According to the CT images, the 54 clay cores were the same as those still embedded in the sockets of the coin handles recovered at the site, thus proving that the Guanzhuang foundry was the minting site.

鄭州大學(xué)考古團(tuán)隊(duì)在官莊鑄銅作坊的田野發(fā)掘過程中，辨識(shí)出了4類與布幣鑄造相關(guān)的遺存，包括空首布成品、尚未使用的芯范、已使用的芯范以及外范。其中最能直接表明官莊鑄銅作坊生產(chǎn)制式化金屬貨幣的遺存是空首布的芯范。共在9個(gè)堆積單位中發(fā)現(xiàn)了54枚芯范，可分為尚未使用和使用后廢棄的兩種。根據(jù)對(duì)空首布成品的CT影像觀察，這些芯范與遺址中所出土的2枚空首布成品銎內(nèi)所嵌留的芯范完全一致，由此確定這些成品布幣就是在官莊遺址生產(chǎn)的。

To determine the absolute date of the Guanzhuang mint, a series of deposition units were selected for radiocarbon-dating. Besides, charred seeds of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and small pieces of charcoal collected were also submitted for AMS radiocarbon-dating. The analysis of all samples by Beta Analytic Inc indicated that bronze production at Guanzhuang started between 814 and 750 BC. During the next 150 years, the foundry produced predominantly ritual vessels, weapons and chariot fittings. Standardized coins minting occurred between 640 BC and 550 BC at the site, while its bronze production kept going. Currently, Guanzhuang is considered as the oldest-known minting site determined by robust radiocarbon dating in the world.

在此次研究中，鄭州大學(xué)考古團(tuán)隊(duì)選擇遺址中浮選的小米作為測年樣品，并通過選取連續(xù)堆積單位樣品提高測年精度。樣品經(jīng)由美國貝塔年代學(xué)實(shí)驗(yàn)室測定，確認(rèn)官莊的鑄銅生產(chǎn)活動(dòng)大致開始于公元前814年至公元前750年之間。在此后的約150年內(nèi)，該作坊主要集中生產(chǎn)青銅禮器、兵器、車馬器等產(chǎn)品。官莊作坊的鑄幣生產(chǎn)活動(dòng)發(fā)生在公元前640年至公元前550年之間，作坊在繼續(xù)進(jìn)行青銅禮器、兵器等產(chǎn)品生產(chǎn)的同時(shí)，開始出現(xiàn)了制式化金屬貨幣的鑄造活動(dòng)。這一數(shù)據(jù)首次提供了有關(guān)中國早期鑄幣遺址的絕對(duì)年代信息，也使官莊遺址成為經(jīng)碳14檢測確認(rèn)的世界上現(xiàn)存最古老的鑄幣作坊遺址。

Guanzhuang mint is located at Guanzhuang village of Gaocun town in Xingyang city. Approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the School of History of Zhengzhou University, together with the Zhengzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Xingyang Heritage Conservation and Management Center, carried out systematic archaeological exploration and excavation at Guangzhuang, discovering a large craft-production zone with workshops of bronze, ceramic and bone artifacts. The bronze foundry occupied the largest area among them. In 2019, the craft-production remains at Guanzhuang during the Zhou and Han dynasties reached the final stage of selection for the top 10 national archaeological discoveries in 2018.

據(jù)了解，官莊遺址位于河南省滎陽市高村鄉(xiāng)官莊村。經(jīng)國家文物局批準(zhǔn)，鄭州大學(xué)歷史學(xué)院聯(lián)合鄭州市文物考古研究院、滎陽市文物保護(hù)管理中心在遺址內(nèi)進(jìn)行了系統(tǒng)勘探和發(fā)掘，發(fā)現(xiàn)了大面積的手工業(yè)作坊區(qū)，作坊內(nèi)的手工業(yè)活動(dòng)涉及鑄銅、制陶、制骨等多種類型。其中，鑄銅作坊的面積最大。2019年，官莊遺址兩周及漢代手工業(yè)作坊遺存入圍2018年全國十大考古新發(fā)現(xiàn)終評(píng)。(中文來源/河南日?qǐng)?bào) 翻譯/趙漢青 海報(bào)/實(shí)習(xí)生王君藝 審校/丁嵐)