Unearthing history's secrets

Two archaeologists clean a bronze vessel unearthed from the excavation of the Marquis Haihun's tomb in Nanchang, Jiangxi province [Photo provided to China Daily]

An annual list of the top archaeological finds in China is getting more public attention thanks to increasing media coverage of excavations of historical sites.

They are commonly referred to as the "academy awards of Chinese archaeology". The annual list of the top 10 archaeological discoveries in China for 2015 was released in Beijing on May 16.

The finds cover a time span that ranges from the Paleolithic period to the First Sino-Japanese War in the 19th century.

The final list was picked from 25 candidates, and included finds such as a Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) tomb identified as the burial site of dethroned emperor Liu He in Jiangxi province and a vessel identified as the famous warship Zhiyuan from the Beiyang Fleet, which sank in 1894 in Liaoning province.

The list also recognized older projects that achieved breakthroughs last year.

Among them was a mining and smelting site in Hubei province. Excavations at the site have been continued since 1970, but last year archaeologists found a tomb cluster of laborers.

Also recognized were the Liangzhu cultural sites in Zhejiang province, which were discovered in 1936.

While finds from the Liangzhu sites have made the top 10 lists many times before, their latest claim to fame is the discovery of a hydraulic project.

The annual listing was launched in 1990 by the Beijing-based newspaper China Cultural Relics News, and the jury teams up archaeological authorities and scholars from leading museums and universities, such as the Palace Museum and Peking University, to make its final selection.

An analysis of the 260 finds that have made the lists since it was launched in 1990 shows that finds from Henan, Jiangsu, Shandong and Shaanxi－all provinces boasting rich historical and cultural legacies－dominate the honor boards.

Interestingly, finds from the well-known Sanxingdui site in Sichuan province, which covers a period from the late Neolithic Age and to the Bronze Age, have never made the list. Many remarkable artifacts unearthed there in 1986 surprised the world, and a museum has even been built at the site.

Among the finds which were in contention for this year's list were several building foundations and city walls, but they failed to make the cut.