To the south of Lajia Village, about a kilometer or two away, a rural wilderness called Xia La by the locals is looking like it is in full swing.

Hundreds of local villagers carrying hoes were digging in the soil on a large construction site with an area of ​​about 200,000 square meters under the bright sun, waving their hoes vigorously.

Don’t think that everyone working on an archaeological site is an archaeologist.

The total number of archaeologists working at the Qinghai Archaeological Office is less than fifty, and nearly half of them are responsible for indoor work such as scientific archeology, data analysis, and cultural relic restoration.

There are only twenty or thirty people who can really participate in field archaeology.

If you want to excavate these 200,000 square meters of ruins with only 20 or 30 people, how long will it take to excavate the site?

In fact, for most of the excavation work on the construction site, the archaeological institute hired local villagers nearby to help.

Therefore, in many documentaries related to archeology, there will always be a bunch of aunts and uncles in their forties or fifties at the archaeological site, holding hoes in their hands and looking at the camera with curious faces.

Of course, these temporarily employed villagers usually do the most basic work, work that every farmer can do.

Dig holes and turn over soil!

Archaeologists are responsible for the preliminary exploration, measurement, and determination of orientation. When it is determined to start digging, the villagers are asked to help dig the soil together.

When the cultural relics layer is excavated and cultural relics, grave pits, and remains begin to appear, archaeologists come to the scene with tools such as hand shovels, bamboo sticks, and soft-bristled brushes.

When Chen Han and others arrived at the excavation site, they saw a fiery scene.

About one-fifth of the construction site has been excavated with dozens of exploratory squares, large and small. Each exploratory square is different in size. The big ones are over a hundred square meters, and the small ones are as large as four.

Five square meters.

A pile of archaeological team flags were flying next to the construction site. Dozens of archaeologists from Qinghai and other regions were carefully exploring and excavating the ruins.

On the other side, nearly a hundred local villagers were also wielding hoes and continuing to dig new areas according to the plan.

It is estimated that some of them will be explored, and the next step will be where Chen Han and the others work and struggle every day.

The staff member of the Qinghai Archaeological Institute who led the team stood beside the construction site with their arms folded, and introduced the situation of the Lajia ruins to Kong Wenjian, Chen Han and the others with emotion.

"The excavation work of the Lajia site has been carried out for more than a month. This site is very huge."

"We worked day and night for more than a month before we were able to clear out a very small part."

"It is precisely because of this that we reported to our superiors and applied for support."

He smacked his lips and said with a sigh: "The discovery of this ruins was purely accidental."

These familiar words made Chen Han couldn't help but laugh.

90% of archaeological discoveries are basically carried out due to some accidents and accidents. There are very few archaeological projects that archaeologists actively carry out in a targeted manner.

Especially now that more and more attention is paid to the protection of ancient tombs, it is rare for the superiors to approve applications for active excavation.

However, prehistoric relics are not included in the "ancient tombs", and the authorities still encourage excavation.

After all, studying prehistoric sites is very helpful in tracing the origins of Chinese civilization and even improving anthropology.

The staff of the Qinghai Archaeological Institute continued: "At the end of March, when a villager in Lajia Village was taking soil to build a house, he dug out many ancient artifacts from the soil and reported it to the relevant departments."

"The institute sent several researchers to visit and found that the artifacts excavated in Lajia Village were not common cultural relics from the Ming and Qing Dynasties."

"What was dug out turned out to be precious jade!"

When everyone at the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Social Sciences heard that the jade they unearthed was a jade, they all started talking in low voices in surprise.

Jade bi is a flat, round jade object with a hole in the center. It is one of the traditional Chinese jade ritual objects.

Jade bi is the earliest type of Chinese jade that has continued to appear, and it is a very important auspicious jade.

In the past, when archaeological excavations were not abundant, academic circles generally believed that the heyday of jade was from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty.

However, as many jade bis and other jade articles have been unearthed from prehistoric sites in recent years, the development history of Chinese jade articles has been pushed back thousands of years.

According to archaeological evidence, at least in the Neolithic Age of 3 to 4 millennium BC, Chinese ancestors had widely used "jade bis" as carved wearables and funerary objects.

This thing is not only a symbol of power level, but also a gift or token in social interactions. It was widely used by the Chinese ancestors.

Jade bis have appeared in Lajia Village, and they were dug out from the soil, not found in coffins in tombs.

It can be inferred from this that there may be a Neolithic site in Lajia Village.

Because only jade bis found in prehistoric sites are dug out directly from the soil.

Most of the jade pieces from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty were unearthed in coffins or coffin rooms.

Even if there is geological movement, it would be difficult to go directly from the coffin chamber to the soil layer.

Unless it was randomly discarded by tomb robbers, but this possibility is even lower.

Everyone is engaged in archaeology, so naturally they understand this truth immediately.

The staff of the Qinghai Archaeological Institute did not explain in depth. After skipping the process of determining the site, they continued: "After confirming that there is a site in Lajia Village that is likely to be from the Neolithic period."

"The deputy director of our institute personally led a team, and dispatched most of the researchers in the institute, and went to Lajia Village for on-the-spot investigation."

"I don't know if I don't investigate. I'll be shocked if I investigate."

"The scope of the ruins in Lajia Village is not ordinary!"

"Even now, we haven't determined how big the site is."

"The core area currently explored is about 200,000 square meters, and the non-core area is also 200,000 square meters, and exploration is continuing!"

"Let's go, I'll take you to see a few exploratory areas that have been cleared."

The staff of the Qinghai Archaeological Institute opened the cordon and took the lead into the construction site.

Kong Wenjian, Chen Han and more than 30 archaeologists from the Academy of Social Sciences quickly followed his footsteps with expectations and curiosity.

With more than 400,000 square meters of ruins, it can be considered a relatively large gathering of tribes in the new era. Even if you are a direct descendant of the central archaeological institute, you can rarely come into contact with it!

Soon, the staff took them to the first excavation site of the Lajia Village ruins, which was also the first exploratory site to be cleared.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving here, the first thing everyone saw was an area in the exploration area that was more than ten meters wide and two to three meters deep. The color of the soil was obviously different from the color next to it.

This unique area is so eye-catching!

"This! Is this a trench?"

"So wide?!"

"Unprecedented!"

The archaeologists from the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Social Sciences, including Chen Han, all had shocked expressions on their faces!
Chapter completed!