From xinhuanet.com
Over 200 1,000-year-old coins unearthed in Inner Mongolia
English.news.cn 2011-08-23 12:04:11
HOHHOT, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 coins that were used 1,000 years ago were excavated in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said local archaeologists on Tuesday.
The green verdigris-covered coins, most from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and some from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), were unearthed at a construction site in Araxan League, said Zhang Zhenzhou with the Araxan Museum.
Zhang added that the place where the coins were found belonged to the Western Xia Kingdom, which means that the area was probably a business hub between Northern Song and Western Xia.
Zhang's opinion is echoed by Li Daxiang, curator of Weiwu municipal museum in Gansu Province.
"Despite the many battles between the two kingdoms, bilateral trade was booming, which lead to the transfer of the Northern Song coins to Western Xia," Li said.
Probably people tried to hide their money during warfare by burying the coins, Zhang said.
The archaeologists are classifying and studying the coins in order to ascertain in which year the coins were buried and hopefully shed some light on ancient bilateral trade, Zhang said.
Historical records show that the Song silk, porcelain, iron and various textiles were traded to places as far as the Indus River and modern-day Iraq.
There were sporadic diplomatic contacts between the various early Chinese empires and the "west." I vaguely recall at least one grand "adventure" during the Tang Dynasty and I believe that diplomat ended up in India and was gone from the Imperial Court some twenty years before returning.
Over 200 1,000-year-old coins unearthed in Inner Mongolia
English.news.cn 2011-08-23 12:04:11
HOHHOT, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 coins that were used 1,000 years ago were excavated in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said local archaeologists on Tuesday.
The green verdigris-covered coins, most from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and some from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), were unearthed at a construction site in Araxan League, said Zhang Zhenzhou with the Araxan Museum.
Zhang added that the place where the coins were found belonged to the Western Xia Kingdom, which means that the area was probably a business hub between Northern Song and Western Xia.
Zhang's opinion is echoed by Li Daxiang, curator of Weiwu municipal museum in Gansu Province.
"Despite the many battles between the two kingdoms, bilateral trade was booming, which lead to the transfer of the Northern Song coins to Western Xia," Li said.
Probably people tried to hide their money during warfare by burying the coins, Zhang said.
The archaeologists are classifying and studying the coins in order to ascertain in which year the coins were buried and hopefully shed some light on ancient bilateral trade, Zhang said.
Historical records show that the Song silk, porcelain, iron and various textiles were traded to places as far as the Indus River and modern-day Iraq.
***********************************************************************
Historical records show that the Song silk, porcelain, iron and various textiles were traded to places as far as the Indus River and modern-day Iraq. Probably much farther than that, and much earlier than that, too. Silk, for instance, made a huge splash in Rome and that was before the final fall of the western Roman Empire - when was that? Circa 435 CE? I'm too lazy tonight to check the date, but that sounds about right. I recall seeing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC several beautiful Chinese porcelains that were recovered from what is modern-day Iran that date back to approximately 900-1100 CE.There were sporadic diplomatic contacts between the various early Chinese empires and the "west." I vaguely recall at least one grand "adventure" during the Tang Dynasty and I believe that diplomat ended up in India and was gone from the Imperial Court some twenty years before returning.
No comments:
Post a Comment