The expert demonstration and achievement conference of the archaeological excavation of Shenduntou Site was recently held in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. At the meeting, it was announced that the Shenduntou Site is the largest settlement site related to copper casting in the early and mid Spring and Autumn period in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is an important discovery in the metallurgical archaeology of the Shang and Zhou dynasties in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in recent years, and has important academic value for exploring the early bronze smelting and casting appearance in the Ningzhen Anhui region. The Shenduntou Site is located in Guoren Village, Pingpu Town, Fanchang District, Wuhu City, Anhui Province. It was discovered during the Third National Cultural Relics Census. The entire site has a slightly concave shape and covers an area of over 80000 square meters. Among them, there is a terrace about 2 meters higher than the surrounding area in the northwest of the site, covering an area of about 1500 square meters, which is the core area of the site. In August 2024, with the support of the National Cutural Heritage Administration and the Anhui Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Nanjing Normal University, together with the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Wuhu Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and the Cultural Relics Protection Center of Fanchang District, will actively excavate the Shenduntou Site for a period of five months. According to Xu Liang, the person in charge of the archaeological site of Shenduntou Site and a teacher at Nanjing Normal University, the archaeological excavation was mainly carried out in the southern area of the pier, with an excavation area of 805 square meters. Archaeologists have discovered 105 sites with rich archaeological phenomena, and large trenches have also been found around the piers and abutments. Xu Liang introduced that the discovered earthen wall ruins surround the edge of the pier, and excavation work has revealed the earthen wall ruins on the east, west, and south sides, with a total length of 75.5 meters. The earthen wall is dense and hard, constructed manually, but there are no obvious signs of compaction. Excavators discovered a gap in the eastern section of the southern wall, which is inferred to be the site of the gate. Road ruins were found within the gate site. Archaeologists have also discovered four furnace remains inside the walls, along with remnants related to copper casting activities such as charcoal shavings and pottery molds found inside and around the furnaces. In addition, the archaeological site has many pillar holes, which are speculated to be drywall style buildings; The upper part of the discovered well is circular, the lower part is square, and wooden boards are laid at the bottom of the well. There are wooden well frames remaining on the well wall; The discovered kiln site has an irregular shape, with a high degree of sintering on the kiln walls. Ceramic molds and mold blanks have been unearthed around it, suggesting that it is a baked mold kiln. In this excavation work, archaeologists discovered a total of 603 cultural relics, including pottery, primitive porcelain, bronze ware, stone tools, and jade artifacts. The most important discovery was the discovery of a batch of relics related to copper casting, such as pottery molds, blast tubes, lead blocks, lead slag, and copper slag. From the unearthed pottery molds and bronze ware types, it can be seen that the workshop area mainly produces bronze tools such as knives, axes, and cones, as well as bronze weapons such as swords and arrowheads. According to Xu Liang's introduction, based on the stratigraphic relationship and the characteristics of unearthed artifacts, the Shenduntou site excavated in 2024 can be roughly divided into three phases. Among them, the first period is the settlement of the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty; The second period is the peak period of the Shenduntou site, which occurred in the early and mid Spring and Autumn period. Archaeological excavations of earthen walls, trenches, and copper related artifacts found inside the walls all belong to this period; The third period is the decline period of the Shenduntou site, roughly in the late Spring and Autumn period. The attending experts unanimously believe that the Shenduntou Site is currently the largest settlement site related to copper casting in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the same period. There are earthen walls and trenches built around the piers and abutments in the core area of the second phase. A large number of relics related to copper casting activities have been found inside the earthen walls, proving that the area is a high-grade copper casting workshop area, mainly producing bronze tools such as knives, axes, and cones, as well as bronze weapons such as swords and arrowheads. It is preliminarily speculated that it belonged to the "official industry" system at that time. It is understood that mining, smelting, and casting were the three important links in the ancient metallurgical industry. Currently, more than 100 mining and metallurgical sites from the Shang and Zhou dynasties have been discovered in the Ningzhen Anhui region, but few have been extensively excavated. Experts attending the meeting believe that the excavation results of the Shenduntou site provide important archaeological materials for presenting the complete mining, metallurgy, and casting industry chain in southern Anhui, and for a comprehensive understanding of the bronze smelting and casting industry during the Shang and Zhou dynasties in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. (New Society)